In the summer of 2004, Florida experienced 4 major hurricanes in a matter of weeks. These hurricanes left many Floridians without power and passable roads, interrupted communications, and destroyed some homes. During this time, Tampa General Hospital had 1 patient living at home with an implanted ventricular assist device. The patient had been discharged home only 2 weeks before hurricane Frances hit hard. Although the patient was able to stay at home and experienced no major problems with the device, there were several situations that taught us many lessons about caring for patients with ventricular assist devices during environmental catastrophic events.
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