Patients evacuated from Cape Canaveral Hospital ahead of Hurricane Irma

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Patients were evacuated from Health First Cape Canaveral Hospital ahead of Hurricane Irma.

The most critical patients were moved Thursday and others were moved Friday.

The only patients remaining are a few in the emergency room and they’re waiting to be transferred.

“You can have a baby here on the sixth floor and see a dolphin swim outside,” said hospital spokesperson Matthew Gerrell. “If we have a storm, you’re in a direct path. That’s the issue we’re facing, which is why we must train and prepare, and transfer out.”

The patients were taken to other facilities in Brevard County.

The Barrier Islands, Merritt Island and a number of low-lying areas of the county are all under a mandatory evacuation order.

“Our mission is to protect associates, our patients and their families, and everything is about that protection,” Gerrell said.

The hospital was evacuated last year during Hurricane Matthew, when it was closed for a week.

Repairs from that storm are still being made at the hospital.

They were expected to be finished next month.

The hospital has shut its doors to patients, although a small number of staff will remain.

“We have a skeleton crew here to maintain the building, security, construction personnel, maintenance,” said Gerrell.

The hospital had a moving truck come pick up and take away non-essential equipment to a warehouse outside of the evacuation zone.

Cox Media Group