Lowcountry hospitals react as Hurricane Matthew comes closer

Local hospitals worked to prepare for Hurricane Matthew Wednesday and Thursday by shutting down services, evacuating patients and creating a plan for operations during the storm.

Beaufort Memorial Hospital officials announced late Thursday they will begin evacuating hospital patients and closing the emergency room immediately based on recommendations made by the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control and the likelihood of power losses due to predicted storm surges.

Officials and staff are preparing to evacuate approximately 70 inpatients, and are treating and releasing emergency room patients as appropriate. Patients’ family members and/or emergency contacts will be notified when transfer arrangements are made with receiving facilities in South Carolina and Georgia.

Most hospital staff will evacuate once all patients are safely discharged from the facility. They will relocate to one or more of several area shelters so they can remain nearby and resume emergency services as soon as possible.

Updates related to this process and patients will be made available on the hospital’s website at www.bmhsc.org.

Coastal Carolina Hospital in Hardeeville has not yet announced a closure of its emergency room, but released a statement Wednesday that it is evacuating patients and working with emergency officials to determine if and when it will close the emergency room.

Hilton Head Hospital temporarily closed its emergency room at 8 a.m. Thursday and successfully evacuated 39 patients out of the coastal area, according to hospital news releases.

At the Naval Hospital Beaufort, routine operations have ceased for the duration of the storm, but the hospital will remain open to care for designated inpatients. The urgent care clinic remains open, according to a Thursday news release.

The Town of Hilton Head released a statement Wednesday confirming that all other urgent care facilities in Bluffton, Ridgeland and Hardeeville have closed.

This story was originally published October 6, 2016 at 10:12 AM with the headline "Lowcountry hospitals react as Hurricane Matthew comes closer."