Tent hospitals set to handle minor injuries

Several days later, more than 1 million people have yet to see power restored. PLANTATION, Fla. (AP) -- While helping his mother clean up her yard after Hurricane Wilma, 41-year-old Tim Swett aggravated a back problem, sending him in search of a doctor. He went to an emergency room and waited five hours before leaving. It wasn't until he tried another hospital, where disaster teams were set up in tents to handle minor injuries, that he saw a doctor. Six days after Hurricane Wilma, more than 1 million people are still without power and many doctors offices have been closed for a week. That leaves hospitals -- now the only source of medical care in some communities -- swamped with routine medical problems. "You can't get any regular doctors on the phone," said Swett. "You can't get anything filled." To ease the crunch, the Federal Emergency Management Agency set up disaster medical assistance teams at four hospitals to help people with minor injuries, prescription medicine or those trying to follow up on routine medical care. The services are free. Busy days At Westside Regional Medical Center in Plantation, a team had seen 190 patients -- including Swett -- by Sunday morning after opening Thursday. The hospital saw double the amount of normal traffic in the days after Wilma hit, said Chief Executive Earl H. Denning. "They were being overrun," said Bill Wallace, who is commanding a team of 35 doctors, nurses and others working out of four tents set up in the hospital's parking lot. Edward Grant, 58, of Lauderdale Lakes, said he would have gone to his regular doctor for treatment of a boil, but the office doesn't have electricity and was damaged by the storm. He made his second trip Sunday to the tents and barely had to wait before being seen. On Tuesday, he spent 14 hours in an emergency room at another hospital. "It's been a godsend," Grant said. "Emergency rooms are still packed. The service here has been great." People dependent on oxygen or those needing regular dialysis were forced to go to the hospital when their power was out, said Kerting Baldwin, a spokeswoman for the Memorial Healthcare System.