SC and Midlands hospitals to receive, treat patients evacuated after Hurricane Maria

South Carolina and residents in the Midlands have received support when forced to deal with a natural disaster, notably the historic floods of 2015.

As people across the Caribbean and the rest of the western hemisphere try to recover from the devastating effects of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and specifically Maria, the Palmetto State will do its part to offer assistance.

One particular group designed for such an occasion will be activated for the first time. And they’ll be operating at the request of S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster.

Patients evacuated from Puerto Rico and Caribbean islands will be treated in 11 South Carolina hospitals as recovery efforts continue in their homes. Many of these patients will be arriving in Columbia on Monday before being taken to hospitals.

Three arrived ahead of schedule on Sunday, but were quickly accommodated according to Russell Hubright, public information officer for the South Carolina Forestry Commission’s Incident Management Team, which is helping manage the operation.

“This is the first time we’ve been activated, it’s kind of a big deal,” Hubright said. “This is the first time this is happening in the United States.”

The U.S. Department of Defense’s Federal Coordination Center (FCC) is coordinating the effort with the SCFC’s Incident Management Team and other response personnel from local, state and military agencies at the South Carolina Department of Aeronautics hangar at Columbia Metro Airport. That’s where the evacuees are arriving and are being received and put into triage and tracked before being sent to a South Carolina hospital for treatment.

“We’re assisting the U.S. Army, helping to manage who is there and make sure they’re put on the appropriate ambulance,” said Daryl Jones, of the SCFC Incident Management Team, which was enlisted into action by a request from Gov. McMaster and Gen. Pete Johnson, the commanding officer at Fort Jackson.

They wanted Columbia to help ahead of similar operations set up in Atlanta and Shreveport, La.

“We’re just glad and to actually help,” said Hubright, adding that the SCFC’s Incident Management Team has been practicing for this type of event, but it their first time in action. This is the first time in U.S. history that a Department of Defense staffed FCC has been activated.

Most of the evacuees will be treated at hospitals located in the Midlands, according to Hubright. There are also participating hospitals in Florence and Orangeburg. What isn’t known is how many evacuees will be arriving for treatment. It also isn’t known how long they’ll stay in South Carolina.

Hubright said it will likely be determined on a case-by-case basis, with each patient’s medical situation and their situation back home playing determining factors. Many of those homes are located in Puerto Rico, according to Jones, but they will accept evacuees from a number of islands affected by Hurricane Maria. An evacuee from St. Croix arrived Sunday.

“Some will be from smaller islands who were already evacuated to Puerto Rico, then Puerto Rico got slammed,” Hubright said.

This story was originally published September 24, 2017 at 9:22 PM with the headline "SC and Midlands hospitals to receive, treat patients evacuated after Hurricane Maria."