In Hurricane’s Wake, Decisions Not to Evacuate Hospitals Raise Questions

Image: Patients are taken to ambulances outside of Bellevue Hospital during an evacuation on Oct. 31, in New York. Bellevue Hospital continued to evacuate its patients on Wednesday after flooding inundated the basement and knocked out electricity. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)

propublica.org - November 1st, 2012 - Sheri Fink

At 9:30 p.m. Monday, Eugene Tangney burst into a meeting of doctors at the command center for Long Island's North Shore-LIJ hospital system. Ceiling tiles creaked in the wind and television screens showed images of Hurricane Sandy slamming into New York City.

"NYU called," Tangney said. "They want to evacuate. I don't know how to help them right now. They're in a panic mode."

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