WASHINGTON--As Hurricane Ike barreled toward Galveston, Texas, last week HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced the continued activation of more than 1,600 agency personnel to assist Gulf states in preparing for and responding to the massive storm, including support for medical evacuations that began late Wednesday.
Under a mandatory evacuation order, as of Friday nearly a million people had fled Texas’ Galveston-Houston corridor as the Category 2 hurricane, packing winds of 105 mph, approached the state’s northern coast.
The National Weather Service issued a warning for residents in low-lying areas around Galveston stating those who ignored the evacuation order faced "certain death." But according to press reports, more than 100,000 people in Texas' coastal counties ignored the order and remained in their homes.
In preparation, HHS activated the National Disaster Medical System, a federally coordinated operation to assist state and local officials in dealing with major disasters. Working with the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, disaster medical assistance teams helped to evacuate an estimated 200 patients by air and many more on the ground from Texas health care facilities on Wednesday and Thursday to other locations in the state away from the storm’s path. Additional locations in Oklahoma and Arkansas were prepared to receive patients if needed.
More than 550 U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers were called to assist with medical evacuations and special needs shelters, and all 6,000 such officers were put on alert, ready to deploy to states that need assistance in responding to and recovering from both Ike and Hurricane Gustav, HHS said.
Five federal medical stations--two in College Station, Texas, and three in San Antonio--were set up to provide basic care to medical patients who were evacuated from hospitals and nursing homes. Caches of medical and pharmacy supplies were also being moved into place.
Home oxygen providers in harm's way had also implemented emergency plans in preparation for a pending disaster scenario, according to the Council for Quality Respiratory Care, whose members include some of the nation's largest oxygen providers.
"All home oxygen patients have unique needs that require different oxygen treatments, which can become complicated when planning delivery schedules before a hurricane. Providers across the Gulf Coast region have completed their delivery routes and have been supplied extra carts of cylinders for emergency use. If power goes out in any branch, phones will be remotely routed to other areas so patients have access to 24-hour emergency response service. Providers are also constantly monitoring the storm and will advise their drivers individually when reports of high winds exceed recommended levels for delivery trucks to stay on the road," a statement from the group said.
"We have addressed emergency plans in each location and have contacted high acuity patients to make sure they are safe and understand their own evacuation plans," said Andy Ingram, Apria Healthcare's vice president of operations, Mid South Region, which services home oxygen patients in the Gulf Coast region. "Because of the size and strength of this particular hurricane, we have also alerted adjacent regional operation centers in the company to be on standby in the event that assistance is needed outside of our area."
Late Friday, a number of states were already feeling the Ike spike as gasoline prices soared after the fierce storm shut down oil refineries along the Gulf Coast.
With the hurricane's span at 500 miles, a strong storm surge was expected to take a toll as Ike made landfall, but weather officials said the major danger would likely be from high winds and flooding as the storm churned inland.
According to the CQRC, widespread blackouts could leave home oxygen patients without the use of stationary concentrators and in need of hospitalization to stablize their condition. However, Ingram said, "With the lessons we learned from Katrina and other hurricanes, we feel that we are prepared to handle anything that is thrown at us."
HHS said its staff would also be available to augment hospital staff in responding to the expected surge in emergency room visits.
In Hurricane Gustav’s wake, HHS teams treated more than 1,300 patients and continue to provide care for 80 patients in one Louisiana state-run shelter. Fifteen patient advocates from the HHS Administration for Children and Families are assisting patients at federal medical stations in returning to their communities. An additional 15 HHS human services personnel are in Louisiana with the new HHS case management demonstration program, which provides personnel to help hurricane victims identify and access social services programs.
HHS' Leavitt also activated a new Emergency Pharmacy Assistance Program for victims of Gustav that provides a 30-day supply of replacement prescription medications and certain durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs and canes.
But with the size and ferocity of Ike--and the number of those who remained to ride out the storm--Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas told media, "We don't know what we are going to find. We hope we are going to find the people who are left here alive and well."
Search-and-rescue teams were also in place, officials said, but would not be able to respond until the hurricane conditions subsided.
For additional information about HHS support for hurricane preparedness, response and recovery, visit www.hhs.gov/hurricane.