Sandilands Rehabilitation Center in a state of  readiness in the wake of catastrophic Hurricane Irma, that has  developed into a category five hurricane.

Acting Hospital Administrator Ruth Peterson Albury revealed that hurricane preparedness began as early as May of this year when the hospital staff  held their meeting to establish hurricane plans.

“Every year in May we start our preparation.  We make sure we have the  rostering of our staff who are working before, during and after the storm; that’s our first step.

“We have meetings to ensure that we are all aware of our plans in terms of the operational plan, the evacuation plan, and now that a storm is approaching,  we certainly are in the state of readiness,” Ms. Albury said.

Explaining some of what is done to prepare the rehabilitation in the event of a storm, Ms. Albury noted that because hurricanes are something familiar with this country,  preparation is key.

“We’ve had our generators checked, we’ve made sure we have all our debris removed from the compound, and persons are always prepared because we prepare ourselves annually to make sure that this time of the year we have no setbacks,” she said.

Ms. Albury told  this Journal that with a staff of 800 plus, and with the experience they have had over the years, she finds it is easier to deal with an impending storm.

“In terms of our needs or whatever come about, we’ll be able to handle it.

“We have over 800 plus staff and over 300 patients  here at the center.   We go through this every yea, r so we have a wealth of experience dealing with our preparations, our food,” Ms. Albury stated.

As to being adequately supplied with food and water, Ms. Albury indicated that there has never been a challenge,  even in years before.

“Our kitchen is prepared and they know exactly how to count so that they can prepare adequately for our patients and the staff.

“Usually water supply is never a problem.  We  make sure we have our water supply in place  because of past experience we find it easy now to make sure we are in a state of readiness,” Ms. Albury said.