Texas hospitals face a range of problems, from burst water pipes to supply chain disruptions, due to severe winter weather across the state, the Texas Hospital Association said Friday .
According to a statement from Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman for the association, many hospitals have no running water or have rejected pipes, low pressure and boiling water.
Hospitals also have staffing problems, as some employees have had to remain on site to care for patients, which affects the hospital’s food, bedding and water supply.
Other supplies and stocks of drugs are dwindling, though there are some supply trucks on the move today, Williams said.
“Hospitals are ready for anything. But that was a natural disaster that hit us across the state and reached the top of the pandemic,” Williams said.
Many of these problems are facing a couple of Houston community hospitals, which have struggled with water and electricity problems stemming from freezing temperatures and winter storms.
“This year you’ve seen people across the country step up and make things happen,” Dr. Ben Saldana, medical director of Houston Methodist’s emergency services, said of the latest crisis they have. faced health care providers.
“We are the safety net for our public in the emergency department, our hospitals and the doctors or nurses who come together to make sure patients have a safe place and are cared for,” he said.
The Houston West Methodist and Houston Baytown Methodist hospitals operated without water until Thursday. The water returned on Friday, but there were still problems with low pressure, according to Saldana and a hospital spokeswoman.
“Because many of the hospitals in our area were without electricity and water, many of their patients ended up in our facilities,” Saldana told CNN on Friday.
This has meant “a kind of bifurcation of emergencies in an area where Covid is unlikely and an area where it could be possible,” he said. “As the volume of dialysis patients increased, this became very difficult. Five out of six patients who need dialysis three times a week had nowhere to go this week. And we are still struggling with that … It has become a very difficult proposal for those patients. “
The pandemic had forced Houston hospitals, like many across the country, to operate in crisis mode most of last year.
Covid-19 vaccinations have been delayed in many hospitals and public health partners due to weather and shipping delays.
Patients who were discharged have stayed in hospital lobbies because they either have no transportation to return home or cannot return home due to a power outage, according to Williams.
There is also a delay in garbage collection due to problems with suppliers, Williams said.
Houston Methodist hospitals have water now, but the city’s boiling order is still in effect, “so we still have water issues,” said Gale Smith, a spokesman for Houston’s Methodist hospitals. by email.
“All of our hospitals are doing some elective procedures, but we are on track to be fully operational,” he added. “Covid vaccine administration is at full speed in all Methodist places in Houston.”