While the most aggressive system of Tropical Storm Irene has exited the mid-Hudson Valley, flood waters are impacting many of the region's local hospitals. While Orange Regional Medical Center's campus in the Town of Wallkill was not impacted by flood waters, the approach to the hospital from Route 17 off Crystal Run Road/East Main Street was cut off around Phillipsburg Road, near the Wallkill River. In Warwick, the bridges surrounding St. Anthony Community Hospital have been washed out, leaving the hospital on an island, Bon Secours Charity spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said. However, the hospital is fully staffed and functional. At Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, Bon Secours officials are eying the Neversink River, which will crest later this afternoon or evening. A number of hospital parking lots are underwater, Marshall said. Flooding on local roads is making it difficult for medical professionals to get to the hospital. Marshall said police and other emergency personnel are helping those practitioners get to the hospital.
