Hurricane Ian was a Category 4 storm that made landfall in Fort Myers, Fla., Sept. 28, 2022.
Dave Reeves, System Director, Food and Nutrition Services, Lee HealthMillions of people were urged to evacuate the state of Florida in the days leading up to the hurricane. For the staff at Lee Health in Fort Myers, though, the run-up to the storm was spent taking the necessary steps to ensure the health care system could remain operational during and after the storm. Those efforts included the food and nutrition team at Lee Health.
Dave Reeves serves as Lee Health’s system director, food and nutrition services. As part of his role, Reeves oversees the foodservice that supports four acute care hospitals, one children’s hospital, a skilled nursing facility and an adult care center. Altogether, this accounts for approximately 1,800 beds. In addition, Lee Health has a central production facility that produces 50% of the food for the Southwest Florida-based health system.
Here, Reeves discusses the days leading up to and following the storm, as well as the impact it had on the Lee Health team.
Q: Walk through the days leading up to the storm. What steps was your team taking?
A: When preparations for Hurricane Ian started, the path of the storm was very uncertain. We were not exactly sure of its path or whether it would hit us. In foodservice, though, we have to be prepared. We need about four days to ensure our emergency hurricane orders are received. So, at 9 a.m. on Sept. 23, we made the call for additional supplies and water and began preparing more food in anticipation of the hurricane. We started receiving deliveries shortly thereafter. As the deliveries started to roll in, we realized this storm was likely going to be a direct hit on Fort Myers.
Q: Lee Health is a big operation with multiple facilities that serve food. Where did you work from during the storm?
A: During these situations, our team is divided into two parts. We called in Team A, and they had to be on-site by Tues., Sept. 27 and they would stay on-site for the duration of the storm. Team B would come after the storm. I went to the HealthPark Medical Center and Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, which are near Fort Myers Beach, and rode out the hurricane at those facilities. My role was to manage the response for the health system overall and assist those at HealthPark Medical Center and Golisano Children’s Hospital. This also included managing environmental services and patient
transport divisions.
Q: The storm really hit Fort Myers hard. What was it like?
A: When the hurricane hit the Fort Myers area, it was a high Category 4 storm, just a few miles per hour less than a Category 5. The 150 mph winds with 15-foot storm surge pushed water ashore, ripping through homes and businesses along the coast. Our facilities had minimal damage, but due to the storm, we lost all municipal water and power. Our campuses are equipped with generator power, so there was never an interruption in power at our hospitals. However, there was a public water supply failure, which resulted in the evacuation of three of our hospitals until the water pressure could be restored.
Q: Functioning under those conditions must have been rough. What came next?
A: The hospital’s emergency departments were very busy. To support the additional volume, disaster medical assistance teams (DMAT) were set up to offer emergency medical care. The DMAT presence allowed the staff at Lee Health to focus on the critical patients. The most amazing thing was seeing all of the resources come into play. We saw first responders in helicopters, boats and vehicles all around the Fort Myers area, likely doing search and rescues. One day, we had 80 helicopters landing at one of our emergency rooms. As soon as we would evacuate patients, we’d get some readmitted.
From the perspective of the food and nutrition department, we had to feed not only our patients and staff but also members of the National Guard, local law enforcement, security officers, etc. They are all first responders. I was able to contact World Central Kitchen and Mercy Chefs. World Central Kitchen coordinated food trucks at each of our Lee Health campuses with the ability to serve up to 4,000 meals for the people on campus and in the community. And Mercy Chefs made 500 meals for lunch and dinner each day. Our kitchens at Lee Health were able to safely produce food, too, but having that kind of support from those organizations during this time was invaluable. It really relieved our staff, who were all going through a traumatic event themselves.
Q: What was it like feeding people in the storm’s aftermath? How did the challenging conditions impact operations? What was the impact on menu?
A: Other than going to a non-select menu, the patients did not notice much of a change. Breakfast the first day was very limited in terms of what we could serve. It was a continental breakfast. We were able to receive deliveries from Lee Health’s advanced production facility, which was a lifeline for us to be able to continue supplying food. Because we had the use of our ovens, we were able to heat that food on-site. We also had enough water to hand-wash items because we could not run the dishmachine. I’m proud that we were not only able to able to give out plenty of food, but we were able to give out hot food for the duration of the crisis. Also, we had lots of sports drinks brought in to keep our people hydrated. We kept bringing snacks, too. We did whatever we could to keep people going and keep morale up. Having these food trucks on-site and being able to supplement our meals with the ones from Mercy Chefs was extremely impactful. Staff in other departments were so appreciative. They were bringing down signs and cards to the foodservice department to say thank you. Everyone was able to band together to work through this traumatic event. The amount of work this organization put in place and the level of support we have is amazing.
Q: How did the storm affect the team at Lee Health?
A: When Hurricane Ian hit our community, some of our staff learned their cars had flooded and homes were damaged or even a complete loss. The resiliency of our staff was truly remarkable. I remember seeing one of our directors supporting a staff member who had just learned her car and home were a complete loss. Thirty minutes later, that staff member was back performing her job delivering trays to our patients. Many of our staff lost something, but the incredible thing is that it never affected their ability to provide outstanding patient care. The entire Lee Health team all performed as selfless heroes.
Q: Are things back to normal for your team?
A: Normal for food and nutrition is being fully functional. We have a few pieces of equipment that will need to be repaired because they sat idle for a while after the storm. For example, a few exhaust hood motors went out. Other than that, we are at 99% of where we were pre-hurricane. Our census levels have almost increased to where they were prior to the hurricane. Our foodservice teams have performed spectacularly.
That said, we do have some employees who were impacted by this, and labor was an issue prior to and after the storm. Our employees are working with agencies and insurance companies to get their homes repaired. We support them by making sure they have the time off necessary to work with these agencies. Lee Health is doing a great job of getting assistance to our employees. In fact, we have increased daycare services and offered free childcare for employees that had school closures. We’re allowing associates to donate paid time off to other employees who need it. And we’re providing support for housing and transportation. For example, we partner with a ride-share service to provide rides and to and from work for those employees who need it.
