With impending Hurricane Matthew to hit the east coast of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina within the next 24-hours, SGMC, its campuses and affiliates, are preparing for patient transfers and potential problems associated with mass evacuees.

SGMC opened its Incident Command Center at 10am Thursday morning.  Calls are coming in and mutual aid agreements are in place. SGMC is working with Southeast Regional Medical Center in Brunswick, and other coastal facilities to accept patient transfers where bed space is available.  

“Helping hospital partners during a time of great need is automatic,” said Heath Evans, Chief Operations Officer.  “We are in communication with the state as to the current number of patients we can accept at SGMC and its affiliated campuses in Nashville and Lakeland.”

Evans also stated that SGMC will work with area shelters and Public Health to do all we can to make sure evacuees get the critical services needed.

Evans concluded by saying, “Right now, we are keeping watchful eyes and responding within our capabilities.  Evacuees are encouraged to use community shelters not hospital facilities so that our resources can be utilized for patient care.”