Southeastern Health Heart and Vascular’s cardiovascular operating room team performed the first open heart surgery case at Southeastern Regional Medical Center (SRMC) on Tuesday, Oct. 25 since Hurricane Matthew struck the region on October 8. Albert “Jerry” Britt, 71, of Orrum, underwent triple bypass surgery performed by Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. Terry Lowry who was assisted by Dr. Charles Anene with oversight for the first return case provided by Dr. Peter Smith of Duke Health.
“We performed a triple coronary artery bypass on a patient who we were aware of that needed the surgery before the storm but it wasn’t an emergency,” said Dr. Lowry. “The Duke clinic staff monitored the patient throughout the storm and made preparations for their surgery on Tuesday. A lot of work went into making sure we had everything set and were ready to go.”
When asked about his confidence in the team to perform the first procedure following Hurricane Matthew, Britt replied, “They were great—I would recommend them to everybody!”
The storm presented SRMC with a number of challenges related to power, water, access and manpower. The medical center operated on generator power and used water from an outside source for many days with power being fully restored on Oct. 13 and potable water becoming available on Oct. 25. Flooding during the storm and road conditions prevented many employees from being able to travel to the medical center which stretched its manpower limits.
“This shows the resilience of SRMC and its ability to get back to an extremely high level of service for the community with heart surgery being one of the most demanding types of surgery,” said Dr. Smith. “It was kind of remarkable when I arrived on the campus on Tuesday morning how normal it all looked. There is no doubt in my mind that there was lots of preparation done to get it all together. All the employees are obviously resilient and committed not only to the hospital but to the community as well.”
As time has passed following the storm, SeHealth’s services have been gradually restored with more clinics and affiliates opening each week. The following SeHealth affiliates remain closed due to facility issues: Dr. A.J. Robinson Medical Clinic; Southeastern Medical Clinic Bladenboro; Southeastern Pulmonary and Sleep Clinic; and Southeastern Pharmacy Health Park. Southeastern Regional Medical Center is back to normal operations with all services fully restored.
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