Jacksonville doctor recruits more doctors, nurses to go back to help those in need in Bahamas

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local physician is making a house call in the Bahamas -- after he saw how people are suffering from the impact of Hurricane Dorian.

He arrived in a ship that had been turned into a hospital.

“So, we set up one of the bars on the ship as a medical treatment area,” said David Siebert, MD, Memorial Hospital.

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Siebert said when he got to Free Port late last week, hundreds of people quickly formed a line. Many people in that line he said lost everything, some lost friends and family.

“A lot of these people were in need of medical care. There was little babies, pregnant women, older folks,” he said.

In a picture he took, you could see some of the people waiting in line for help. Siebert said it was extremely hot, and almost everyone he treated had heat exhaustion.

“People were passing out, literally passing out on the ground, and one gentleman started to have a stroke, one woman had a seizure. We had fans and water bottles, just bringing them, get them wet and let the fan blow on them and cool them off,” said Siebert.

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Siebert will be heading back to the Bahamas this Friday. But this time, he won’t be alone. Around 20 nurses and doctors from Memorial will be joining him.

“They all want to go,” said Siebert.

Which is good, because Siebert said the Bahamas needs all the help it can get.

“They need everything, they need doctors, nurses,” said Siebert.

Siebert said they will be treating more patients, and their conditions will be worse.

Cox Media Group