Tropical storm Harvey continues to devastate the Texas Gulf Coast. Due to the disaster, which began when Hurricane Harvey made landfall last Friday night, 28 evacuee transfer patients were taken to several hospitals of Seton Healthcare Family, part of Ascension Texas, including Seton Medical Center Austin, Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas, Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas, and Seton Northwest.
On August 24, before the storm hit, Dell Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit transport teams took in seven babies from Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. Over the weekend, Seton Medical Center Austin received 17 adult evacuee transfer patients from DeTar Hospital Navarro in Victoria, Texas. Additional evacuee transfer patients were taken to Seton Northwest Hospital and Dell Seton.
“The staff has been doing a great job,” said Christopher Ziebell, MD, Medical Director of the Emergency Department at Dell Seton Medical Center. “The staff have been just wonderful about identifying patients who are healthy enough to go home and helping us to expedite those discharges so that we can make this capacity available.”
As the flooding continues in Houston and other areas of Texas, Dr. Zeibell said Seton is monitoring the situation.
“We’re preparing for the worst and hoping for the best,” he said. “If they continue to have rising flood waters, then hospitals that are currently sheltered in may need to evacuate, and if that happens we’re going to be ready for them.
