Louisiana hospitals hit by storm evacuate dozens of patients

By MELINDA DESLATTE and RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana hospitals in Hurricane Ida’s path have been forced to evacuate dozens of patients after the storm tore away parts of their roofs, sent water leaking inside and left facilities relying on generator power. Gov. John Bel Edwards said members of the U.S. Coast Guard evacuated seven patients Monday morning from a hospital in Lafourche Parish that had a big chunk of its roof ripped away. Meanwhile, Louisiana’s largest hospital network said it was evacuating about 165 patients from three hospitals in the hard-hit bayou area south of New Orleans. Ochsner Health CEO Warner Thomas said roughly a dozen of its other hospitals in the storm’s path remained open on generator power, including in New Orleans.