Local woman working at Florida hospital speaks out ahead of Hurricane Milton landfall

As many people leave the state of Florida for safety, essential workers must stay to help those who need them.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00 , Greene County native Sierra Crump works as a pediatric radiologist in Fort Meyers, Florida.

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Crump said she couldn’t evacuate, as she would be working at the hospital.

“When you get hired, they tell you about Hurricane teams. So, you know if a hurricane comes, you’re gonna be staying,” Crump said.

Crump said her hospital has two Hurricane teams.

One group stays at the hospital through the storm and the other comes in after the storm has calmed down.

Although she said she isn’t nervous about Hurricane Milton, the impact it has already left on her city is concerning.

“I-75 and I-4 are a parking lot right now because of how many people are trying to leave and there’s no gas, so people are stuck on the highways,” Crump said.

News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson spoke with Crump’s dad, Steven Crump, about how he feels that his daughter is in the possible path of destruction.

“We’re always worried about her. I mean, I worry about her down there driving back and forth to work,” Steven said.

But as a retired police officer and firefighter, he understands her role in the hospital is important.

“And that’s kind of what I told her, I said, you, you’re going to the healthcare field, you signed up for it,” Steven said. “What people don’t realize is like my daughter, you’ve got healthcare workers that have to stay at the hospitals. You’ve got police, fire, EMS, communications, all the essential people that still need to be there in that storm.”

Crump said this isn’t her first hurricane, as she has experienced Hurricanes Ian and Helene.

Steven said he is going to continue to check in with his daughter, as long as he has service to reach her.

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