The rapidly spreading wildfires that have transformed much of Los Angeles County into a raging hellscape are not only upending the lives of tens of thousands of residents and business owners, but also stressing the region’s hospitals, health clinics, first responders, and nursing homes.
At least one medical clinic burned down. Senior patients were evacuated by ambulance from nursing facilities as embers swirled around them and their providers. Medical offices have closed, and routine appointments have been canceled. Some providers have lost homes or had to evacuate their neighborhoods, keeping them from work in many cases and making it a challenge for some health care centers to maintain sufficient staffing.
Amid the maelstrom, doctors, nurses, and other caregivers did their jobs.
On Tuesday night, Ravi Salgia, an oncologist at City of Hope Duarte Cancer Center, saw the house above his Eaton Canyon home go up in flames. As debris and sparks fell, he, his wife, and their older daughter estimated they had no more than seven minutes to get out. In the middle of the night, Salgia got a call that the hospital had become an emergency command center and was at risk of evacuation, meaning he needed to help evaluate patients and make discharge preparations.
Salgia arrived at the hospital at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. He was joined by colleagues, many of whom had also evacuated their homes.
“We all felt very strongly that we needed to take care of our patients — no matter what …