Hospitals adapt to handle ‘blizzard babies,’ emergencies
Good Samaritan tales of residents helping stranded motorists or people needing shelter are aplenty as the area recovers from one of the worst winter storms in its history, but one of the longest-lasting memories may be of those families who welcomed “blizzard babies” last week.
At five hospitals throughout the area, 27 babies were born during the storm that brought more than 18 inches of snow Tuesday into Wednesday.
“It was definitely a memorable time for these families,” said Linda Deering, vice president and chief operating officer at Sherman Hospital in Elgin. “They will be able to share their unique stories of their ‘blizzard babies’ for years to come.”
Sherman Hospital welcomed 10 newborns to the area. At Centegra Health System, with hospitals in Woodstock and McHenry, staff welcomed 14 babies during the storm, which included one set of twins in Woodstock and another set in McHenry. Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington and Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville had a total of three births.
“Overall, everything went well,” said Jason Sciarro, vice president and chief operating officer at Centegra. “It was business as usual for us.”
In many cases, blizzard babies and other patients were cared for by medical personnel that camped out at their hospitals in order to fill in for those who couldn’t make it to work.
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