HOUSTON--With the death toll at 60 as of Friday and more than a million people still without power in Texas alone, residents across nine states moved into recovery mode last week in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.
Although rescue teams concluded their work and had begun pulling out of areas along the Texas coast, where the ferocious storm hit in the wee hours Sept. 13, the lack of power and gasoline in Houston continued to create problems for home-based patients and HME providers.
President Bush had previously declared major disasters in Texas and Louisiana, and the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency said it is coordinating the joint efforts of federal, state and local authorities in providing essential services and supplies to those in need. But in Houston, 14 regional hospitals without power remained closed and, according to press reports, only 40 gas stations were operating in the nation's fourth largest city.
Many of Houston's residents were still without electricity, and people waited for food, water and ice at 22 distribution centers that had been set up around the city. Officials said it could be another week or more before all power is restored.
Following is an excerpt from a report on the situation in Houston last week from the Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America:
“Today in greater Houston over 1 million people are still without power, gas lines are long as only a few stations are open, there is minimal food available as what was in supermarkets has now spoiled, and there is little relief in site. 911 is not functioning properly in a majority of the city as resources are unable to respond and lines are still down. FEMA does not respond to phone calls and hospitals are scrounging for equipment and resources.
“Yet in this difficult situation medical equipment companies like Texas Home Medical, an AMEPA member from Greater Houston, is doing its best to service all of its 1,000 clients. The Hall family, which owns and operates the business, admits to nerves getting testy as the fifth day of over 100-degree temperatures is upon them. Working out of their warehouse offices with no power and no air conditioning, they respond to calls for service all day and night. Their generators can only run their phones and computers, but that is a luxury in the environment in which they find themselves.
“Each day Texas Home Medical not only delivers oxygen but they look for ways to fill their tanks. The firms that normally fill their oxygen tanks are closed with no word on when they will reopen. Putting patients first, Texas Home Medical located local welding shops with tank-refilling capacity and they have their people posted there, filling day and night. They are paying a premium to have their oxygen tanks filled there, but it is the only way to service their patients. At night each truck in their fleet has waited for up to three hours for gasoline so they can deliver oxygen the next day. They have been working on 24-hour schedules and proudly report they have covered all of their patients. FEMA cannot say that; FEMA is out of oxygen. Local hospitals are calling Texas Home Medical for oxygen and they are trying to help.
“Most hospitals are still without power … Patients need to be released, but unfortunately, because a limited amount of providers are able to work, there is a backup of patients who cannot be released without equipment at home for their immediate use. Texas Home Medical is working all hours to assist in clearing patients out of hospitals, finding supplies and equipment that is not easily located as many manufactures and suppliers are not in operation in this post-storm environment.
“The Hall family and other medical equipment providers have put their patients before their own families, with little food, limited gas, no electricity and few prospects, their families go without while they service the needs of patients throughout Houston, taking up the slack for others and doing what doctors, hospitals, and other health care agencies cannot and will not do: service patients in their homes. Such is the commitment of [the] medical equipment provider.
“This news is no surprise to providers in Melbourne, Fla., who were hit by hurricanes a month ago and serviced patients for a week while their community was deluged with 24 inches of rain, flooding, loss of electricity and limited fuel. It is no surprise to Miami DME providers who have been through this time and again, yet no patient has ever died in these hurricane-prone areas due to a lack of oxygen. This is not because oxygen is not an essential medication; this is because the providers' commitment cannot be deterred.
“These providers know they will never be paid for all for this extra effort; their fees are the same no matter the hassles to find fuel, to find oxygen, to find patients' homes when signage is blown away and roads are closed and flooded. As some providers are driving 200 miles to get gas for their generators, they know they will never recoup the premiums paid for equipment, fuel and overtime for their employees. In the end, their bottom lines will suffer, but their patients will not. Patients appreciate the midnight [deliveries] and 6 a.m. equipment replacement, the instructions [given] by flashlight and the hard work that goes with working under horrible conditions.
“When Congress looks at Medicare's budget and decides to cap oxygen reimbursements and cut 9.5 percent off the top of equipment providers' gross income, what they do not see is the ongoing service of dedicated professionals who even in times of crisis, work tirelessly for their patients. Even when there has not been a storm or disaster, medical equipment providers are available 24 hours a day to help and ease the lives of their patients …
“It is everyone's hope that the tragedy that is the post-Ike situation in Greater Houston will remind Congress of the great importance that medical equipment providers play in the daily lives of patients nationwide.”