4K sheltered at SMH during Milton, 7 babies delivered

Sarasota Memorial estimates its staff sheltered more than 4,000 people before, during and after Hurricane Milton between its downtown hospital campus, Venice hospital and freestanding ER in North Port.

The head of the health system says the hospitals "stayed busy" and "fared well" throughout the storm, caring for everyone from those injured in the hurricane to four-legged family members to medical evacuees.

“We had an influx of patients as the storm headed our way and hospitals around us began closing and evacuating patients,” David Verinder, CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, says in a statement.