Hospitals struggled during Sandy, report says

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — When Superstorm Sandy slammed into the Northeast nearly two years ago, hospitals found themselves dealing with surges in patients, lost power supplies and employees who couldn’t get to work — problems that a new federal report finds they were not prepared to handle.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Inspector General Office released a study Wednesday on the emergency preparedness and response during the storm at 172 hospitals in the hardest-hit areas of New York, most of Connecticut and all of New Jersey.