By By Janet Little Cooper
Atmore Community Hospital administration and staff have agreed to house refugees being transported from hospitals located in the hurricane-ravaged area.
The Alabama Department of Health is checking daily with all functioning hospitals in the state, on their current status of patients and number of beds available.
"Based on our current patient load, we currently could handle 18 additional patients", said Bob Growing, hospital administrator.
According to Bob Gowing, the hospital has not yet received any patients from the storm area. According to Gowing, it is a low probability that Atmore will receive any patients. Gowing said,
"Most of the patients are being transferred to larger facilities north of us.," he said.
The hospital is ready with additional staff and the necessary resources and is on standby when needed.
"We have seen a 50 percent increase in our ER patients since Katrina made landfall," Gowing said.
The increase has been attributed to hurricane evacuees.
Reports indicate that hospitals remain flooded with no power or food. Critically ill patients are dying due to the lack of needed supplies.
Rescue crews continue to transport patients from hospitals that have been left without power, water, and the essentials for proper care in the affected Gulf States.
To assist families and friends in locating these patients, Alabama's hospitals have created a searchable database at www.alaha.org. People can enter the full name of a missing person, and the web site will search to see if he or she has been admitted to an Alabama hospital.
"We are hopeful that we can help reunite family members in addition to providing the medical care that is so desperately needed," said Mike Horsley, president of the Alabama Hospital Association.