Puerto Rico's Hospitals Running Out of Everything and Patients Running Out of Time

Source: The Daily Beast



Electricity is on and off, drugs are depleted, and nurses can’t get to work while emergency rooms flood with people.

INGRID ARNESEN
PABLO VENES
09.26.17 2:57 PM ET

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Centro Médico, Puerto Rico's main medical center, has been on and off the grid since Hurricane Maria struck last Wednesday. Officials earlier this week celebrated the restoration of the hospital’s electricity, but on Tuesday morning generators were buzzing through the hallways again.

Centro Médico’s nursing director said gasoline shortages are compounding the hospital’s problem because staff can’t report to work while patients flock to the hospital.

“I have more than 100 people in the emergency room. The problem is that we are receiving lots of patients because other hospitals can't. It's something unprecedented, but we will get through it,” Gomez said.

Link to tweet

Arturo Cedeño, medical director of Aguadilla's Good Samaritan Hospital, claimed authorities have not kept their promises made to hospital employees that they would get priority in obtaining gasoline. Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said Puerto Rico has enough fuel, but the problem is distributing across the island over impassable roads. Pump gas lines are still crowded and people are willing to wait four hours for $25 worth of gas. Meanwhile, Good Samaritan is running out of medicine.

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Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/puerto-ricos-hospitals-running-out-of-everything-and-patients-running-out-of-time