Since Hurricanes Irma and Maria bludgeoned Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in September, the emergency room at the VA hospital in San Juan has been operating at maximum capacity, according to an article on the Stars and Stripes website.
In many instances the VA has kept people after they were stabilized, because they had nowhere else to go.
Not only are there more patients — people who were injured or whose health declined in the poor conditions — but many people with chronic ailments are in a more acute state.
More elderly are coming in, and people who would be cared for at home have been forced out of damaged homes.
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