Lee Health ensures better preparedness for future storms

In the middle of Hurricane Ian, Lee Health had to close down hospitals, causing a nightmare for patients and caregivers. 

Like many of us, Lee Health is learning from the hurricane and said they will be better prepared next time. 

“One of the worst things you can do during a storm like this is evacuate a hospital because that’s when the people need you,” said Lee Health President and CEO Larry Antonucci. 

But that’s what Lee Health had to do during Hurricane Ian.

They had to move 416 patients– 90 of them were kids. Among them was 5-month-old Jhira, who had RSV and was at Health Park Medical Center.

“He had moments that he felt like he couldn’t breathe, and his chest was squeezing down what felt like flat as a pancake,” said Niki Escobar, Jhira’s mom.

Escobar, also known as 1st Lady Niki on Fly 98.5, a radio station owned by Sun Broadcasting and a sister company to WINK News, said Health Park Hospital had no water, but still, she trusted her medical team and the decisions they had to make.

“I didn’t feel there was a lack of care or inability for them to completely do their job,” said Escobar.

“One of the things we didn’t anticipate was the loss of water from our municipalities. There were major water main breaks throughout the county.” Said Antonucci.

A hospital cannot function without water, so even during a powerful hurricane, Niki and her baby went by medical helicopter to John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in Saint Petersburg.

“The state ordered an evacuation of the Health Park campus and the Gulf Coast campus,” said Antonucci, “and we began that evacuation; the children’s hospital was evacuated.”

Lee Health’s security director Gloria Graham, said while flood water never entered the hospitals,
the surge filled the Health Park and Golisano Children’s Hospitals parking lots.

“We lost over 400 cars in the parking lot, 10% of our staff, 1400 people were displaced from their homes. I mean, that’s how significant it was.” Said Antonucci.

The challenges continued after Ian roared away. The emergency rooms re-opened, and patients packed them. Doctors, nurses and technicians couldn’t leave. Many couldn’t get in touch with their loved ones.

It took time to get the hospitals back to operating at full strength.

Lee Health learned some hard lessons and now the administration is working on ways to prevent the problems it faced a year ago.

At the top of the list is ensuring clean water.

“We intend to install independent wells at each of our hospitals,” said Graham.

“We want to be better prepared this year,” said Antonucci.