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Hospitals shut, or will be soon
Published September 21, 2005
As Hurricane Rita barreled toward the Texas Gulf Coast packing winds at an estimated 135 mph, one Brazoria County hospital closed Wednesday morning, another planned to close at noon and the other scheduled a 6 p.m. closure.
Angleton Danbury Medical Center became the first hospital in the county to shut its doors, followed by planned closures at Brazosport Memorial Hospital in Lake Jackson and Sweeny Community Hospital.
“We have all of our patients taken care of,” Tonya Visor, Angleton Danbury Medical Center spokeswoman, said Wednesday morning. “We are battening down our departments. As soon as that’s done, we’re releasing our employees.”
Brazosport Memorial Hospital officials met Wednesday morning to update their game plan, and decided to close at noon Wednesday, scrapping prior plans to close, weather permitting, at noon Friday.
When the hospital reached its decision, there were about five people in its emergency room, said Paula Haenchen, a hospital spokeswoman.
“By closing our emergency room at noon, it will allow us time to make arrangements for the last couple of folks who are left,” Haenchen said. If more people came, there would be no way to get them out. “We will get back to open as soon as possible.”
Haenchen stressed the hospital is not a shelter. The building was built to withstand only a Category 3 storm, she said.
Throughout Tuesday night and Wednesday, local hospitals evacuated patients not healthy enough to be released to other health care facilities. Brazosport started evacuating about 10 patients Tuesday via ambulance and helicopter, while anyone who was healthy enough was discharged, Haenchen said.
The Angleton hospital transferred less than 10 patients to other health care facilities, Visor said.
Hospital officials said the transfers went well. “We’ve had a lot of support from other hospitals,” Visor said.
Sweeny Community Hospital, which plans to close at 6 p.m. Wednesday, stopped admitting patients at 6 a.m. Wednesday, said Rhonda Moran, hospital spokeswoman. All patients have been evacuated from the hospital and assisted-living patients are staying with family, she said.
The hospital’s ambulances will stop running at noon Thursday, Moran said.
Ambulances from Angleton will respond to calls, but there won’t be a hospital to take patients, said Lucille Mayes of the Angleton Area Emergency Medical Corps. That same holds true for Brazosport area ambulances.
The mandatory evacuation for hospitals, nursing homes and hospices started at 6 a.m. as mandated by Brazoria County officials.
Velda Hunter is the senior reporter for The Facts. Contact her at (979) 237-0153.
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