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. Post-Acute Care
February 18, 2021 04:25 PM

Texas home care workers face challenges to provide care during winter storm

Ginger Christ
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Getty Images
    Pedestrians walk on an icy road in East Austin, Texas.

    When it comes to natural disasters, shutting down healthcare simply isn't an option for most providers. But Texas' recent winter weather and power outages posed particular challenges for home care providers as many roads were impassable and clients were trapped at home.

    In the greater Austin area, Deborah Garcia runs a small nonmedical home care agency, Texas Home Care Partners. Some of the company's caregivers have stayed at clients' homes since Monday, taking shifts with family members to care for clients. In other cases, families have taken over caregiving until the roads clear.

    "In cases where the client absolutely can't be alone and doesn't have family there, we have to stay," Garcia said.

    Home care patients often require assistance with daily activities like bathing, dressing, making meals and remembering to take medicine, and some require 24-hour care.

    "It's not easy, and it takes a village for sure," said Brenda Riordan, executive vice president of strategic operations for Encompass Health's home health and hospice division. "Certainly, we never want to go through a disaster but when we do go through a disaster, we learn every time."

    Encompass, which operates home health and hospice services in 31 states, has emergency plans in place for every patient. When it becomes clear there's going to be an impending hurricane or a winter storm, they reach out to every patient to make sure they have updated contact information and can assess who will need in-person care during an emergency, Riordan said. Employees call daily to check in on patients and use telehealth whenever possible.

    "Our staff rises to the occasion and makes it out to those patients with critical needs," Riordan said. "We've had staff members who have had no power and outages who have found a way to stay connected."

    Those with four-wheel drive drove to the homes of patients, while others walked if they could.

    In Tyler, Texas, one licensed practical nurse had a pharmacist meet them at a closed pharmacy to get medication for a diabetic patient. And in Cleburne, Texas, a therapist found a during a morning check-in call that a patient didn't have access to water and worked with the local police department to have a case of water delivered.

    "Storm and disasters bring the worst situations but also the spirit of healthcare," Riordan said. "We've got so many people out there who are healthcare heroes."

    Even if the roads are passable, some grocery stores are running low on food, and only some pharmacies are open.

    "Fortunately, none of my clients have run out of their meds, but it's a possibility," Garcia said.

    All of Garcia's clients, have had power restored by Thursday. But one client was without electricity for 30 hours, she said. For her clients, who are in their 80s and 90s and are on oxygen, a loss of power means resorting to back-up oxygen cannisters, if they have them or can find them.

    While the beginning of the week was hectic, now that caregivers are in place, things have calmed down, Garcia said.

    The most pressing concern now is water. Parts of Austin have been advised to boil water due to low pressure.

    St. David's South Austin Medical Center had to transfer some patients out of the hospital Wednesday after losing water pressure and subsequently boiler-powered heat and asked employees on shift to stay at the hospital, according to KUT, Austin's NPR station. Likewise, Ascension Seton locations in the Austin area also were facing water shortages.

    Garcia expects to see the situation in the Austin area improve over the next few days. In the meantime, she is paying workers overtime and hazard pay and offering them extra days off next week.

    "It's going to have a hit on me, I know that. Some places we don't have caregivers. Other places, it's all time and a half. Clients are going to have to absorb the majority of that cost," Garcia said.

    Riordan said obviously some visits were missed because staff can't get to patients, which will affect the business.

    "But we anticipate, in the recovery, getting back to all of the patients. I think it's a temporary situation," Riordan said.

    The National Association for Home Care and Hospice said in a prepared statement, "NAHC is concerned about the situation and the welfare of America's homebound population. I have no doubt the Texas home care providers are doing everything in their power to care for their patients."

    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
    Nursing home 2
    Medicaid allowances fail to meet basic needs of nursing home residents
    Nursing home 2
    California incentivizes nursing homes to add staff with bonus Medicaid payments
    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
    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