Ambulances lined the streets of Hoboken, N.J. in the relative calm before Hurricane Sandy last night as Hoboken University Medical Center evacuated patients in the predawn darkness.
Hospitals along the east coast are preparing for the worst, which means postponing elective surgeries, stocking up on supplies, ensuring that backup power generators are ready to go, and, in some cases, evacuating patients.
“Patient safety always is paramount, and although the risks of the hospital losing all power are small, all safety precautions must be taken,” said the medical center’s CEO, Paul Walker.
Hurricane Sandy is affecting between 50 million and 60 million people as far west as the Great Lakes and as far south as North Carolina, emergency management officials said. They said that Sandy, meeting with a cold front and a high pressure system, could become the worst storm since Hurricane Grace in 1991. Grace was nicknamed the “Perfect Storm. ”
The Hoboken hospital evacuated because of fears that surges from Sandy could breach Hoboken’s seawall, causing several feet of flooding. The Emergency Room and OB-GYN services for emergency deliveries remained open.
30/10/2012 : By Sydney Lupkin / ABC News.
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