Volume III, Issue 41
Oct. 10, 2016
FL Avoids Direct Hit from Hurricane Matthew; Can't Steer Clear of Human and Economic Costs
WH
Starting Thursday afternoon ( 10/6/16), the storm moved up the Atlantic Coast as a very dangerous Category 3 hurricane, bringing torrential rain, powerful winds, a storm surge and flooding. After Florida and Georgia avoided a direct hit, the storm touched down in South Carolina in the late morning on Saturday ( 10/8/16) as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

WIM
Florida hospitals prepared to get hit by the monster storm Matthew, with many facilities altering their normal operations, and a number of facilities closing and evacuating patients.

Providers scrambled to address the needs of their most vulnerable patients. For example, Dr. Maina Gatonye, Chief Medical Officer for Chen Senior Medical Centers in South Florida, worked the phones for several days, calling patients with conditions like diabetes and kidney failure. In the run up to the storm, staff identified the most at risk 400 to 600 patients.

The U.S. death toll was nineteen. Six people lost their lives in Florida due to the storm. In some cases emergency responders were unable to immediately dispatch services due to the severity of the storm.

The economic cost of the storm is estimated to be between $25 and $70 billion.

It's a good news, bad news scenario with regard to the Zika virus. On the one hand powerful storms tend to blow away the local mosquito population. Meanwhile, debris and destruction from the storm can create new mosquito breeding sites, pooled with water from all the rain. People then go outside during the recovery period, providing ample opportunity for mosquitoes to feed.

The hurricane baby thing is real. OB-GYNs should note that there is evidence that starting about nine months after a hurricane, you can expect a baby boom.

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About Us
Florida Health Industry Week in Review is published every Monday by FHIcommunications. 

Each Monday morning we share the top healthcare headlines of the previous week and summarize What Happened (WH) and Why It Matters (WIM).

To learn how you can join our team of editorial contributors, contact Jeffrey Herschler.

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