LIVINGSTON - Livingston HealthCare evacuated all of their patients last night, after water from the Yellowstone River flooded their driveway, making it difficult for emergency responders to get in and out.
“Our hospital is currently unsafe to access at this point, we’ve had water over our driveway,” Lindsey Pennell said, “From the pandemic—if anything we can take from it—we are very capable to responding to the unknown."
Lindsey Pennell, marketing and communications manager at Livingston HealthCare, says that eight patients were safely evacuated to Pioneer Medical Center in Big Timber.
“A lot of our nurses showed up for their scheduled shifts,” Pennell said. “Our imaging department, our therapists, even our housekeeping crew are heading over there to help.”
As of Tuesday, June 14, the water has not entered the building.
Some members of hospital staff, and first responders, who could not return home decided to lodge in Livingston for the night, Vicki Craft said. She works the front desk at Murray Hotel and says she has never seen a time quite like Monday night.
“It was the first time I’ve walked into just total chaos, there were just so many people here,” Craft said. “We were all booked up, then there would be cancellations.”
Some of those cancellations, Craft said, came from people trying to flee Gardiner, but once Highway 89 was shut down, they could not get out. The cancellations and empty rooms were not left vacant for long and were donated to first responders.
“We had some sheriff’s officers that came in to stay over the evening,” Craft said.
Some tourists planning on checking in Monday night gave a call into Murray Hotel, offering their room up for locals.
