Last week Mount Vernon native Donielle Robertson had a front row seat as Milton, a category three hurricane, roared ashore on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Robertson is Chief Nursing Officer at a healthcare facility just south of Tampa.
“It was definitely scary,” Robertson said. “We had the shutters up on our hospital, but yet at the same time, all of the wind caused lots of creaking and crazy little noises that occur as well.”
Patient safety was the top priority. “You know, it happened during the middle of the night is when Milton landed and so most of them were asleep and didn’t even know of all the craziness that was going on outside,” said Robertson.
Robertson says when the sun came up the next day she learned the hospital did not sustain any significant damage and staff and patients were safe.
She finally made it home that evening. “And found out that my house was safe and sound both inside and outside,” she said. “And so very grateful that my house is safe.”
Robertson says this week hospital leadership and staff will review how the facility handled Milton and adjust procedures accordingly for future storms.