Black River Hospital heroes plead for help

The doctors, nurses and other hospital staff who kept some 71 patients alive as Hurricane Melissa tore through the main health facility in St Elizabeth, Jamaica, are now facing crises of their own: homelessness, hunger and exhaustion.

The dire situation was made known by Emergency medicine resident at the Black River Hospital, Dr Robert Powell, who shared that the staff’s determination to save lives came at a heavy personal cost.

“Many of the staff have been displaced,” he told Barbados TODAY during a visit to the storm-ravaged facility. “There’s no food around. The first few days after the hurricane, there was looting, so there are a lot of persons here without water and food. Those supplies are needed.”

Powell said the hospital was left in ruins when the hurricane ripped off roofs, flooded wards and destroyed medical equipment. Beds, patient files and hospital furniture were left scattered across the compound, while only a small section of the Accident and Emergency unit remains partially usable.

Yet, despite the destruction, all 71 patients admitted before the storm survived and were later airlifted to safety with the help of the Jamaica Defence Force, the Ministry of Health and other agencies.

“Our staff complement is over 200, and I’m sure less than ten per cent have a proper house left,” Powell said. “Everyone has been displaced. Many have opted to leave the area to stay with relatives, so who you see here is who has nowhere else to go.”

Pointing to several nurses sitting on the compound, he added that many had been working nonstop since the storm’s passage.

“They’ve been here since the day after the hurricane and haven’t been home since,” Powell said. “We’re like a family here, just trying to keep the momentum going and keep our mental health in check, but it hasn’t been easy.”

Powell, who still has part of a roof left, said his home has become a refuge for others.

“I’m probably the luckiest of the bunch because I still have somewhat of a roof over my head. My house is now the refuge for many people just seeking help,” he said.

He appealed for help to provide basic supplies and materials to rebuild.

“Many people have a structure around them but nothing over their heads,” he said. “The weather has been forgiving for now, but the rain will come, and there is no cover, no tarpaulin, no lumber. If you can provide us with these things, it would be greatly appreciated. No donation is too small.”

Among the displaced is Nurse Alexia Grant-Graham, who worked through the hurricane alongside her husband, also a hospital employee, to safeguard patients when the roof blew off.

“My husband works here as well, so both of us were on duty. We didn’t get to go home until Wednesday night. When we got home, it was worse than here,” she said. “Everything is damaged. We don’t have food, we don’t have clothes, no uniform…  nothing. Everything is wet.”

Sections of the hospital roof remain peeled back, ceilings hang low with soaked insulation, and the scent of mud and disinfectant lingers in the halls. Outside, debris which told the tale of a disastrous experience was piled near the entrance.

“I don’t know what’s next,” Grant-Graham told Barbados TODAY. “That’s why I’m here sitting… there’s nowhere else to go.”

Staff members remain hopeful that help will come. (SM)