Maine Hospital Treating ‘Unprecedented Number’ Of People Falling Down
Haven't put down salt in your driveway? You might become a statistic.
With two storms moving through the area this week, Maine Medical Center has been real busy trying to keep up with demand. People are falling down...a lot. According to WGME 13, Doctors say they treated over 250 patients one day last week at Maine Medical Center and Brighton First Care, which is an unprecedented number for them in the winter time.
Many are hitting the emergency room with broken wrists and ankle problems. Head injuries are also common this time of year, but have also experienced an uptick. Recently, Maine Medical Center has reportedly seen about nine times more hip and leg fractures than they usually do.
Maine Medical Center Emergency Physician Dr. Andrew Perron told WGME News 13, “Mainers are hearty, Mainers know how to get outside and get around, there was something about yesterday's storm that made our volume go up, and specifically with orthopedic injuries, it was out of control.”
With another possible storm late this weekend, homeowners are urged to take precautions like sanding and salting. Officials have said many recent injuries occurred on untreated surfaces.