PASADENA, Texas – Monday morning, after Hurricane Beryl hit Texas’ coast, a Pasadena woman – who does not want to be identified – like millions lost power. She was also running out of oxygen in her tanks.
The mother of two has congestive heart failure, enlarged heart and pulmonary embolism.
“By Monday night, I was out of oxygen,” she said. “I managed to call the ambulance with 1% (on her phone) and give my address to them before it hung up.”
Paramedics ultimately reached her and took her to HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast on Spencer Highway.
“It was busy when I got there. The lobby was packed with people, mostly oxygen,” she said. “It was just taking them a while to get a bed for me because they were so packed.”
Due to her health history, doctors had her stay for observation.
She described sitting in the hallway next to other patients.
“They had beds, stretchers, out just in the hall, trying to get us the ones they could help, and discharged as many as they could,” the woman told KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun. “It was just taking them a while to get a bed for me because they were so packed.”
“How long did it take before you got a bed,” Balogun asked.
“It was like 12 hours,” she replied.
“How did you feel,” he asked.
“Tired,” she said. “My legs, my feet had swollen up.”
A spokesperson for HCA Houston Healthcare confirmed several of their ERs have seen an increase in patients.
It isn’t just HCA. Baylor St. Luke’s has seen an 80% increase in ER visits compared to a typical day. A spokesperson said in the past two days, they’ve had between 170 and 180 patients per day compared to approximately 100 on an average day.
Houston Methodist’s Assistant Director Dr. Benjamin Saldana said Monday, when Hurricane Beryl hit, saw the second highest amount of emergency room visits throughout the system and all 18 ERs.
“As the days progressed, without power, patients present with more heat illness,” Saldana said. “We know we treat a lot of patients with cancer and, transplants, co-morbid disease, like COPD and CHF, and those patients are at greater risk for heat illness.”
Saldana said their goal is to process every patient within 20 minutes of arriving.
“(We’re) always prepared for surges, inpatient volume, during disasters,” Saldana said.
Harris Health’s President and CEO Dr. Esmaeil Porsa calls it a “crazy increase.”
“The impact of the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl is really bringing patients from everywhere from the different area hospitals,” Porsa said. “(The) majority of our people are those communities that don’t have access. That don’t have generator power.”
Porsa stresses they are managing it.
“I don’t want to alarm anyone, but I want to put it on everyone’s radar we are seeing an increase in our emergency room,” Porsa said.
Not only are they seeing patients but also their families searching for air conditioning.
“We are seeing a lot of people showing up in the emergency room, they are bringing their entire family in for refuge from the heat,” Porsa said.
As for the Pasadena woman, she previously worked in healthcare, so she expected to wait.
“I appreciate everything they did for me,” she said. “It’s a lot of people that don’t understand, we’re all here for the same reason, to get medical attention. There’s only so much that they can do. They’re humans just like we are.”
HCA Houston Healthcare statement
“Our 13 HCA Houston Healthcare hospitals successfully weathered Hurricane Beryl and did not sustain major storm damage. All hospitals remained open throughout the storm and currently are receiving emergency transport and walk-in patients. Many of our ERs have seen an increase in patient volume due to storm-related complaints, including heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and carbon dioxide exposure. We are also seeing many respiratory patients who need their oxygen tanks refilled.
Due to this increased volume, we ask that people only visit our emergency rooms if they are truly in need of emergency medical attention.
While many of our HCA Houston ER 24/7 and CareNow Urgent Care Clinics are open and accepting patients, a few have experienced power outages that resulted in the need to temporarily suspend services. These locations will resume services as soon as possible. For the latest information on our locations, please visit www.hcahoustonhealthcare.com or www.carenow.com or visit us on Facebook.
All of our facilities are working with patients and physicians to reschedule outpatient appointments and elective procedures that were affected by the storm. We continue to monitor the power outages that are impacting the greater Houston area, and are working with our local healthcare and community partners to ensure continued care for the communities we serve. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the storm, and we are doing everything we can to support our colleagues and our patients.”