Battered By Harvey, Houston’s Hospitals Become ‘Islands Of Humanity’ In Midst Of Storm
The flood waters are straining Houston's medical system, but hospitals and providers are doing what they can to help victims.
The New York Times:
Houston’s Hospitals Treat Storm Victims And Become Victims Themselves
Water poured into hospitals. Ambulances were caught up in roiling floodwaters. Medical transport helicopters were grounded by high winds. Houston’s world-renowned health care infrastructure found itself battered by Hurricane Harvey, struggling to treat storm victims while becoming a victim itself. The coming days will inevitably bring more hazards for storm-damaged hospitals and nursing homes, and their patients and staff. The scenes of turmoil across Texas raised the specter of the extreme flooding following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when dozens of hospital and nursing home patients died, and doctors awaiting rescue at one stranded, powerless hospital became so desperate, they intentionally hastened the deaths of their patients. (Fink and Blinder, 8/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
Amid Harvey Flooding, Hospitals Offer ‘Islands Of Humanity’
Doctors waded miles through Houston’s flooded roads to reach their clinics. Other medical staff camped out at their hospitals for days, catching some sleep on cots between shifts. One medical facility was forced to evacuate patients by boat. The health-care system in the nation’s fourth-largest city strained to deliver care as floodwaters thwarted cancer and kidney-dialysis treatment, stalled ambulance traffic and left hospital officials worriedly monitoring dwindling supplies of food and medicines. (Evans, Walker and Loftus, 8/28)
The Associated Press:
Flooding Disrupts Care At Houston Hospital, Cancer Center
One of the nation's busiest trauma centers began clearing space Monday for the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey even as the storm continued its days-long onslaught of rain. Ben Taub Hospital personnel transferred a handful of patients to other facilities and took much needed deliveries of food and fresh linens after spending the weekend short-staffed and with dwindling supplies, said Bryan McLeod, a spokesman for the Houston hospital's parent company, Harris Health System. (Marchione and Schmall, 8/29)
The Associated Press:
Public Health Dangers Loom In Harvey-Hit Areas
The muddy floodwaters now soaking through drywall, carpeting, mattresses and furniture in Houston will pose a massive cleanup challenge with potential public health consequences. It's not known yet what kinds or how much sewage, chemicals and waterborne germs are mixed in the water. For now, health officials are more concerned about drownings, carbon monoxide poisoning from generators and hygiene at shelters. In the months and years to come, their worries will turn to the effects of trauma from Hurricane Harvey on mental health. (Merchant and Johnson, 8/28)