Sumter Regional Hospital Needs Help

I am posting this on behalf of our client, Sumter Regional Hospital. We sent them our hope and prayers.

Sumter Regional Hospital damaged by last night's tornado

Sumter Regional Hospital received considerable damage last night after a tornado touched down in Americus, Georgia. The storm blew out windows as high winds bombarded the hospital's infrastructure and turned cars over in the parking lot. The hospital's Outpatient Diagnostic Center, the HealthPlex at Sumter Regional, also took in extensive damage and will be unoperational for the forseeable future.

"The most important thing is that we evacuated everyone last night and all our patients were moved to Phoebe and other area hospitals,"said Marcus Johnson, SRH Director of Marketing & PR. "The staff and other volunteers did a fantastic job in the face of a horrific storm, and we appreciate all their hard work."

Johnson said that while the hospital is currently not operational, anyone that needs medical attention can go to 1st Baptist Church located at 221 South Lee Street. The phone number is (229) 924-8999. The church will serve as the ER/Triage area for the forseeable future, and if anyone needs additional attention they will be moved to another facility.

Johnson also stated that all SRH Oncology patients that usually ride the bus to Phoebe are asked to meet at the Magnolia Manor Chapel to catch the bus all next week (Monday through Friday). The bus will leave at both 8 am and 1pm, and they will also bring the patients back. For more info, please call Phoebe's Oncology Department at (229) 312-1000.

Also, the local Red Cross is also headquarted at 1st Baptist Church. Red Cross Director Leisa Cross said they are accepting donations of all kinds, including monetary, and for more information you can call (229) 924-4035 or their home office at 924-2026.

If you have a family member or friend that is missing, you can contact the Americus Public Safety Building at (229) 924-3213.

"This is going to test our resolve as well as the entire community as a number of businesses have been leveled and some people have lost everything they have," said Johnson. "However, we will do everything we can to continue serving the healthcare needs of our community, and we will keep everyone informed on the subsequent renovation of Sumter Regional Hospital. It is going to take some work, but SRH means too much to this community to just let it go without a fight. We appreciate everyone's prayers and donations, and just continue to keep everyone who suffered a loss yesterday in your prayers."

Johnson said that all SRH employees should check the hospital website at www.sumterregional.org for updates as well as contact their immediate supervisor.

"Our Administration is working on a contingency plan as we speak, and hopefully we will get more information out in the near future," said Johnson. "All nursing and medical personnel should check at 1st Baptist to see if they are needed, and all office personnel needs to check with their immediate supervisor for further instructions."