Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE IMPLEMENTATION IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Digital Health
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Unwell in America
  • Opinion
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • Data Center
    • Data Center Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
August 28, 2017 01:00 AM

Texas hospitals have been preparing for Harvey for years

Rachel Z. Arndt
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    AP

    As Hurricane Harvey made landfall this weekend, Texas hospitals tried to stay safe and operational using such tools as submarine doors and elevated power supplies, both improvements set in motion after Tropical Storm Allison struck in 2001.

    Some, like the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's Houston facilities, remained closed Monday, as water flooded into their lower levels.

    But others, like Christus Health's Houston-area factilities, were mostly fine by Monday morning, two days after HHS Secretary Dr. Tom Price declared a public health emergency in the state, where floodwaters still threaten to rise.

    In 2001, during Tropical Storm Allison, some of Texas Medical Center's 23 hospitals were devastated, with structural damage and research lost. Texas Medical Center facilities flooded, forcing patients to be evacuated, sometimes in the dark. Animals in the Baylor College of Medicine's basement died in floodwater.

    If there was a silver lining, it was that the storm catalyzed a slew of flood protections, including new floodgates, above-ground electrical and water-pump systems, animals kept on higher floors, and, for UT Physicians, battery backups for refrigerators that store important medications (such as tetanus vaccines).

    As of Saturday, each of Christus Health's hospitals had a seven-day water supply on hand, and Christus was preparing to distribute the water in Corpus Christi, which had issued a boil order for water. "We have to ensure that our facilities are better prepared to handle these storms," said Christus CEO Ernie Sadau, explaining that in the last 10 years, the system has focused on strengthening its buildings, installing windows and roofing materials designed to withstand Category 4 and 5 storms.

    "We had some damage, but when you look at everything we feel like we were pretty fortunate," Sadau said. Christus had minimal flooding, he said, and didn't have to close any facilities.

    Like Christus, Texas Medical Center—which spent billions on fortifications after Allison—relied on flood doors to keep water out. The organization also tracked rainfall in real time, using a flood alert system put in place as a result of Tropical Storm Allison.

    But the protections could go only so far: The basement of one of the Texas Medical Center's facilities, Ben Taub Hospital, flooded, damaging its power supply. The hospital attempted an evacuation that was slowed by the water that surrounded the structure.

    News of the flooding spread quickly online through videos and text snippets. Unlike during Tropical Storm Allison, this time hospitals in Texas have a major tool: Twitter. Many took to the social media site to tweet out updates throughout the weekend—and to stop misinformation, as Houston Methodist did when it corrected a rumor that its Texas Medical Center hospital was flooding.

    The tweeting began before the storm struck, with hospitals posting emergency alerts ("Tips for Expectant Moms and Families," from Texas Children's Hospital; retweets of the National Weather Service, from Texas Medical Center).

    Though some preparations, like the installation of flood gates, took years, other offline preparations mimicked those on Twitter as hospitals quickly spun into action. On Friday, Baylor Scott & White Health encouraged central Texans to donate blood. Later Thursday into Friday, the Driscoll Children's Hospital, in Corpus Christi, sent babies from its neonatal intensive-care unit to a hospital in Fort Worth, pre-emptively protecting them from potential power disruptions to their ventilators.

    Other hospitals postponed elective surgeries—with announcements coming, of course, on Twitter, where early Monday morning the National Hurricane Center warned of "ongoing catastrophic and life-threatening flooding."

    According to the hurricane center, there are still 15 to 25 inches of rain on the way.

    In the face of the ongoing rain, Sadau said, "We're there for the community."

    An​ edited​ version​ of​ this​ story​ can​ also​ be​ found​ in​ Modern​ Healthcare's​ Sept.​ 4​ print​ edition.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    health care_doc and patient_i.jpg
    Michigan primary care doctors want more funding to help rural staffing shortages
    BurnoutUnsplash.jpg
    Health systems bet on employee mental health initiatives
    Most Popular
    1
    More healthcare organizations at risk of credit default, Moody's says
    2
    Centene fills out senior executive team with new president, COO
    3
    SCAN, CareOregon plan to merge into the HealthRight Group
    4
    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan unveils big push that lets physicians take on risk, reap rewards
    5
    Bright Health weighs reverse stock split as delisting looms
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Digital Health
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Unwell in America
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Data Center
      • Data Center Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing