SC hospital to reopen emergency room following hurricane
Opening the facility and restoring power to essential areas are among the issues Beaufort County emergency personnel are addressing ahead of re-entry
By Stephen Fastenau
The Island Packet
BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. — Beaufort Memorial Hospital’s emergency room will reopen at noon, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Opening the facility and restoring power to essential areas are among the issues Beaufort County emergency personnel are addressing ahead of re-entry.
Beaufort County opened entry Sunday to those who already possess primary, secondary or security re-entry passes. The passes only apply to individuals, the county emergency hotline said.
Power crews are working along Ribaut Road to clear trees from power lines and restore the power grid. Power has been restored to some areas.
Beaufort Memorial Hospital experienced some leaking due to rain, but the issues have been repaired, hospital spokeswoman Courtney McDermott said Sunday. The hospital is running on full power and outpatient medical services could reopen by Tuesday, president and CEO Russell Baxley said.
Gov. Nikki Haley at a press conference this morning said the hospital sustained structural and flooding damage, though she didn’t provide specifics.
Beaufort-Port Royal firefighters are going door-to-door assessing damages to homes and businesses, keeping a log at their Ribaut Road headquarters. The city’s building code contractor will follow up on the list and arrived Sunday morning to begin looking at flood damage in problem areas like Mossy Oaks and the Point neighborhood downtown.
The Port Royal Public Works Department is working with the Greenery to clear about 30 locations where trees are blocking roads, Town Manager Van Willis said. In most cases, there is access to homes and businesses, he said.
The town today remains under a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew.
Meanwhile, some businesses began showing signs of life.
The Shell gas station at First Boulevard and Ribaut Road began pumping Sunday, and some gas was reported on Ribaut Road. Lady’s Island Publix will be open until 6 p.m. Sunday, according to a call to Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department headquarters.
Lowe’s, Walmart and Golden Corral on Robert Smalls Parkway were working to reopen Sunday. Beaufort Pharmacy and Compounding across from Beaufort Memorial Hospital is open.
Emergency officials are also working to establish local shelters for those whose homes are uninhabitable when they return. Residents who know their homes are damaged should have a plan in place.
“Beware you might come back to a home you can’t stay in,” Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Chief Reece Bertholf said. “Now what do you do?”
Copyright 2016 The Island Packet
