Hurricane Beryl tore through Texas on July 8, 2024, causing widespread damage and leaving millions of people without power. This is the fourth article in a 4-part series highlighting the relentless efforts of St. Luke’s Health staff to ensure continuity of care across our hospitals.

The Vintage Hospital

When Hurricane Beryl’s winds and rain finally subsided on the morning of Monday, July 8, the staff at St. Luke’s Health–The Vintage Hospital felt blessed to have made it through the storm with only minor damage. 

But that afternoon, things changed drastically. The utilities district that supplies water to the hospital lost power when their pumps failed.

“The water pressure became very low and we had to deploy our internal resources for potable water, secure a water tank to feed our plumbing and cooling towers (air conditioning), and ask everyone to conserve water and utilize hand sanitizer,” explained Mario Garner, president of St. Luke’s–The Vintage. Fortunately, water from the utilities district was restored three hours later.

While hospital patients remained comfortable during the storm and water crisis, the rest of North Houston was plagued with extreme heat due to widespread power outages. That triggered a surge of patients to the hospital’s emergency room.

“We received an influx of patients, many of whom lost power which sourced their continuous oxygen monitoring, rebreathers, and CPAP machines,” Garner explained. 

Within the first 24 hours after the storm, the emergency department, which averages 80 visits a day, had 108 visits. On July 9, that number increased to 133 visits, Garner said.

That resulted in a demand for more inpatient beds but the hospital could not safely discharge many of its 61 inpatients on July 8 because their homes and other medical facilities were without power. Four days later, many parts of Houston were still without electricity and the hospital’s census rose 77 percent, Garner said.

Additional beds were placed in the emergency department and two overflow units were opened to accommodate the additional patients including patients transferred from neighboring freestanding ERs and from St. Luke's Health system facilities in Springwoods Village, Livingston and Lakeside.

“From the emergency department, nurses, physicians, ancillary and support teams, as well as EMS, everyone went above and beyond, working collaboratively to ensure that safe and compassionate care was provided for the additional influx of patients. Our corporate regional office provided float pool resources,” Garner said. “Our ministry is committed to serving the community and the entire hospital, everyone, banded together to meet the needs of our patients by delivering exceptional care underscored by Humankindness.”

The Woodlands, Lakeside, and Springwoods Village Hospitals

Both St. Luke’s hospitals at The Vintage and at The Woodlands 35 miles away were in constant coordination with the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Committee (SETRAC) and the St. Luke’s corporate team. “To be able to move patients within your sister facilities benefits everyone in a crisis,” said Jim Parisi, president of St. Luke’s Health-The Woodlands and its neighboring Lakeside and Springwoods Village Hospitals.

Many of the lush, gorgeous trees that grace the Woodlands in North Houston toppled over during Hurricane Beryl, causing massive power outages and blocking roads, leaving thousands in peril.

The Woodlands emergency department saw a 67 percent jump in visits on July 9.  Areas normally used for procedures were used to add 30 beds. Nearby St. Luke’s hospitals at Lakeside and Springwood Villages provided some relief by accepting lower acuity patients and providing another emergency room for the area. 

“You couldn't get gas and couldn't get groceries and you couldn't get ice. People relying on ventilators or oxygen concentrators can’t get them to work because they can't plug them in. They're extremely fragile, so we ended up being their safe haven,” said Parisi. The 245-bed Woodlands hospital and its emergency department experienced a surge of patients as soon as Beryl’s winds died down and people could navigate through downed lines and trees. “The surge in volume in the emergency room and hospital was as bad as peak COVID numbers. Every bed in the emergency room and the hospital had admitted patients,” he said.

The community’s need did not stop at emergency services. Even the hospital’s cafeteria served locals, who showed up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Melanie Graves, director of nursing support services at The Woodlands said staff worked in harmony for four days managing the overload. “The entire team, from every single department, were doing their own thing and reporting back –  really collaborating to make sure that every patient got the very best care,” she said. “Folks that normally do not provide clinical or direct patient care came supplied water and blankets, answered phones, pushed patients in stretchers, you name it. It was all hands on deck.”

Parisi praised the heroics of the staff. “Our employees were victims of the storm too. We had people without power at their own homes, yet the majority of them came to work every single day. They knew that their patients needed them and  the hospital needed them.”