Nurse Stays for Patients, Ensures Safety

By Selicia Kennedy-Ross, San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.

Oct. 25–LAKE ARROWHEAD — Lori Betcher cradled a newborn baby boy tenderly in her arms as ambulances arrived to evacuate the patients at Mountains Community Hospital.

The infant was one of 29 patients, including his mother, evacuated from the hospital Tuesday after being threatened by the Grass Valley Fire.

Betcher, a registered nurse and obstetrics supervisor in the maternity ward, has been through this before. She helped evacuate patients during the Old Fire.

“In 2003, they set up a command post in our parking lot,” she said. “It felt like history was repeating itself.”

Betcher, 58, said the patients handled it well. Each was told which hospital they were going to, and in some cases, were even given a room number.

“If we had planned it in a drill, it couldn’t have gone any smoother.”

On Wednesday, only a skeleton crew remained at the hospital, many enjoying a pot of chili Betcher had made.

Betcher, who has lived in Lake Arrowhead for the past five years, is still working and has not evacuated from her home.

“We’re still here holding down the fort up here,” she said. “We are here to take care of people on the mountain — and when the people come back, we’ll be here to serve them.”

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Copyright (c) 2007, San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.

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