More than a month after Hurricane Laura hit Cameron, La., a hospital in the city will operate as a makeshift facility due to extensive damage, according to local NBC affiliate KPLC.
Leslie Trahan, an administrator at South Cameron Memorial Hospital, told the news station that the hospital will be on temporary power for the extended future. The makeshift facility will be operated by physicians and nurses from the hospital, and run during hours outside of the curfew that's still in effect for some communities in Lousiana's Cameron parish. The facility will transition to 24 hours once the curfew is lifted.
The hospital was also severely damaged by Hurricane Rita in 2005. Although South Cameron Memorial was outfitted to withstand tropical weather after Hurricane Rita, significant destruction still occurred from Hurricane Laura, including flooding.
While the hospital is slated to begin operating in a makeshift fashion in the next week, Donnie Simon, the state health department's Region 4 administrative coordinator, said South Cameron Memorial is designed to "stay here for the long haul," according to the news report.