More than three weeks after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island of Puerto Rico, many hospitals are still suffering from power outages, leaving physicians and other healthcare professionals to administer medical attention by candlelight, CBS News reports.
Carlos Mellado, MD, a physician at Canóvanas Medical Center, said the most recent power outage occurred Thursday, though the lights came back on shortly before CBS News arrived at the facility. During the outage, patients were forced to "[wait] by candlelight for medical attention," according to the report.
Dr. Mellado said the hospital's pharmacy has been dispensing medication at no charge and will worry about payment "later," the report states.
However, free medication may not be enough to help those suffering from illnesses resulting from their inability to obtain clean drinking water. Hospital officials said one of the facility's former patients, Jorge Morales, 61, reportedly died of leptospirosis, a bacterial infection spread by contaminated water. Officials said he was one of four individuals whose deaths could have been prevented, according to the report.
"I think that my frustration is the response [of] the federal government," Dr. Mellado told CBS News.
In a series of tweets Oct. 12, President Donald Trump said the looming crises were of the territory's own making and that U.S. aid through governmental organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. military will be withdrawn from Puerto Rico eventually.
"Puerto Rico survived the Hurricanes, now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making … Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes. Congress to decide how much to spend … We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever," President Trump tweeted.