Robert Howard

A message from the Board

By Robert Howard

What did the hospital do to prepare for Hurricane Florence? The short answer is, a lot. Administration and senior physician leaders decided the hospital would provide mission-essential services because they knew the building and emergency systems could safely protect employees and patients.

Some of the tasks the team faced: Coordinating the closure of several hospital services and all the physician clinics, running emergency operations during the storm, dealing with the inevitable contingencies, and then bringing all the services back on line after the storm. Talk about complex.

While the building sustained some water damage, the hospital was back in full service quickly thanks to 39 staff members who remained on duty and treated more than 150 patients during the hurricane.

Community support was tremendous. Leading the way were State Senator Bill Rabon and State Representative Frank Iler who made sure Dosher had access to regional and state resources. Other key leaders and organizations that helped our hospital:

• Jim Powell, Southport alderman

• Bruce Oakley, Southport city manager

• Charles Drew and the Southport Fire Department

• John Ingram and the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office

• Brian Watts, director, Brunswick County Emergency Operations Center

• Administration, New Hanover Regional Medical Center

• Administration, Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center.

While Florence made landfall with less than Category 4 winds, the disruption and danger to our community was real. The Dosher team of physicians, nurses and support professionals was here in this time of emergency-just like the many other dedicated first responders. Dosher is laser-focused on making sure we are here for our community now and in the event of future emergencies.-Robert Howard, Dosher Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees.



Thanks to Brunswick County Sheriff's Office for coordinating delivery of a medical supply shipment to Dosher over a washed out roadway shortly after the hurricane.