Hurricane Ian strikes Florida hospital from above and below

By ALINA HARTOUNIAN
The Associated Press

Hurricane Ian has swamped a four-story Florida hospital from both above and below, according to a doctor who works there. The storm surge flooded its lower level emergency room on Wednesday, while fierce winds tore away part of the roof from the fourth-floor intensive care unit. Dr. Birgit Bodine spent the night at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, anticipating the storm would make things busy. But, she says, she didn’t anticipate that the roof would blow off on the fourth floor. The damage forced patients into just two of the floors. Bodine plans to spend another night at the hospital, when incoming storm injuries could make things worse.