- Each year, Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare begins preparing for Hurricane Season in May.
- TMH explains it's crucial for the community to prepare emergency supply kits now.
- Watch the video above to see how they work through storms to keep patients safe.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Hurricane Season is underway, and Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare is ready for whatever may come our way. I'm First To Know Meteorologist Riley Winch here at TMH in Northeast Tallahassee where doctors and staff are making sure you have everything you need to stay healthy if a storm comes our way.
"We typically begin our preparation here at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare around the beginning of May." Phillip Doyle is Chief of Public Safety and Emergency Management at TMH. "Everyone really needs to have a plan in place, Doyle said."
That plan needs to include what medical options are available during a storm. At TMH, "we'll continue to receive patients in the emergency room no matter what time in the storm," Doyle added.
But he tells me as a storm gets closer and winds increase, "EMS network will shut down when we have sustained winds of 45 miles per hour or higher."
Keep in mind, tropical storm force winds start at 39 miles per hour.
Drake Donaldson, a doctor of family medicine practice, tells me special medical conditions need special planning. For example, "a CPAP machine, if you need that for sleeping, or any other devices that need electricity, you need that generator to be ready," Dr. Donaldson said.
And if power goes out there needs to be a plan for, "medications that need to be stored in refrigerators, like insulin, other medications, if that needs to be refrigerated, we have to find a place where that can be safely stored."
Regardless of your medical condition, it is crucial to have a plan in place in case a storm comes our way.
