Wednesday, October 5, 2016
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Roper St. Francis Healthcare announces additional Hurricane Matthew closings, cancellations
Roper St. Francis Healthcare is continuing to curtail services at our facilities across the lowcountry. We are doing everything we can during the next few days to reduce our patient census, prepare for the storm and ensure the safety of our teammates and patients.
New Information:
• All Roper St. Francis Express Care and After-Hours facilities will be closed starting at noon Wednesday through Sunday. Anyone with an emergency should go to the Emergency Room.
• The SCRUBS U class scheduled for Wednesday evening is cancelled.
• Hospital Visitors: As much as possible, we'd like to discourage visitors to patients in our hospitals during the storm. We ask that families limit visitors to one person per patient. We ask that visitors bring pillows and blankets and possibly food and water. We are making this decision so our attention can be focused on taking care of our patients and teammates.
Previously announced closings and cancellations:
• All elective surgeries will be canceled for Thursday and Friday.
• Wednesday surgeries will be limited to outpatient surgeries scheduled prior to noon.
• Roper St. Francis Physician Partner offices will be closed starting noon Wednesday.
• Roper St. Francis diagnostic centers, such as James Island Diagnostic Center located at 325 Folly Road, Wingo Way Diagnostics located at 180 Wingo Way and our Goose Creek location at 149 St. James Avenue, will be closed starting at noon Wednesday.
• Roper – Northwoods ER in North Charleston will close at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
• The Lowcountry Senior Center will close Wednesday.
• Patient census will be reduced in all hospitals, and admissions will be limited to true emergencies as required by state authorities.
Because of the logistical challenges of evacuating coastal hospitals at the same time the public evacuates, Roper St. Francis Healthcare leaders are confident it is in the best interest of patients to shelter in place. Roper St. Francis Healthcare and other coastal hospitals have worked with the state to develop an evacuation exemption process that seeks to ensure the safety of both patients and staff. To satisfy the evacuation exemption, Roper St. Francis Healthcare has committed to the following actions:
• Reduce patient census
• Update critical data sheets regarding facility capabilities to withstand the storm
• Reduce and eliminate discretionary services
• Stop admission of non-emergent patients
• Cancel elective procedures