Health systems across several southeastern states are closing clinics and rescheduling elective procedures as Tropical Storm Debby is expected to bring prolonged downpours and flooding through Aug. 9.
The storm, which made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in Florida's Big Bend region Aug. 5, brought more than a foot of rain to parts of the state. At least five deaths were confirmed and more than 135,000 people were without power in Florida and Georgia as of early Aug. 6. The hurricane weakened to a tropical storm as it moved north, with parts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina now facing major flood threats over the next several days, according to forecasters.
Some areas of South Carolina and Georgia could see more than 20 inches of rain over the next several days, bringing potential "catastrophic flooding" risks to the region, according to the National Hurricane Center. For context, South Carolina sees around 48 inches of annual rainfall, on average.
Here's a breakdown of how hospitals and health systems are responding as the storm system moves in:
South Carolina
Several health systems in the state began shutting down certain services and rescheduling surgeries Aug. 5.
MUSC Health Charleston enacted emergency operations Aug. 5, which switched clinic appointments scheduled for Aug. 6 to virtual visits. The system is also rescheduling outpatient surgeries that were set for Aug. 6. Decisions for Aug. 7 have not been made yet.
Summerville-based Roper St. Francis Healthcare is rescheduling nonemergency procedures Aug. 6-7.
Charleston-based Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Care System is continuing inpatient and emergency department operations at its downtown locations, but is closing clinics Aug. 5-6, according to a report from The Post and Courier.
Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Health has several hospitals along the storm's path, including in South Carolina. Normal operations will continue presently, though Trident Health System, part of HCA, is communicating with meteorologists and has contingency plans for staffing in place if flooding affects employees' ability to get to work, officials told The Post and Courier. Trident Medical Center is also preparing for busier ED volumes if flooding causes ambulance diversions from Roper and MUSC.
Georgia
Three systems are pausing services and rescheduling some surgeries on Aug. 6, WTOC11 reported.
Savannah-based Memorial Health is closing outpatient services for therapy, breast imaging, wound care, lab and imaging, and closing its Memorial Health University Physicians practices on Aug. 6.
Savannah-based St. Joseph's Candler is closing cardiology, podiatry and neurology surgeries at its hospitals. All surgeries and imaging appointments are continuing on schedule at two hospitals.
Dublin-based Optim Health System is closing for the day Aug. 6 and canceling and rescheduling all elective surgeries at four facilities. It is also closing 12 clinics Aug. 6.
Florida
As of Aug. 5, the Florida Hospital Association was not aware of any major damages or service disruptions at health systems in the state.
"With regard to closures or evacuations, we are not, at this point, aware of any," said Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the group. "It's a fluid situation because of the risk of flooding," she said, adding that hospitals are communicating closely in case road closures affect patient transport.
Meanwhile, Florida hospitals are still grappling with the aftermath of a July 29 ransomware attack on OneBlood, a blood center that provides 80% of all blood for the state's hospitals. OneBlood began restoring its systems Aug. 5 and Florida hospitals have since seen improvements in shipments of blood products, Ms. Mayhew said.
"Because of the storm, we obviously are very focused on the logistics of transport of the platelets," Ms. Mayhew said. "There still is a dependency on platelets coming in from out of the state, so anything that interferes with that distribution because of the storm just creates additional stress on the blood supply in Florida."