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Area hospitals are well ahead of the curve when it comes to preparing for natural disasters. Their key? Communication.
Robbie Kirk, the emergency services coordinator for Citizens Medical Center, said staying in regular contact with other hospitals and emergency management agencies is a vital part to making sure the hospital stays operational during inclement weather.
“Communication is definitely key. We have a ham radio and a ham radio operator on staff, a satellite phone, separate land lines from the switchboard and backup power to all the essential elements in the facility,” he said.
Kirk is the chair of the local emergency planning committee and serves on a statewide disaster task force that was formed after Hurricane Rita. The task force meets once a month to make sure that everyone is on the same page prior to a hurricane or bad storm hitting the area.
“That’s another key, is to be prepared ahead of time,” Kirk said. “The National Weather Service is very good at getting us information, and we have both an overall hospital plan in place, as well as individual hurricane plans for each department.”
DeTar Healthcare Systems in Victoria begins making preparations as soon as officials hear about a storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico, John Wallace, director of facility management, said.
They also participate in calls with the State Emergency Operations Center three times a day to make sure they are prepared to the best of their abilities for anything that may happen, he added.
At El Campo Memorial Hospital, at least three times a year the staff goes through disaster training programs with pretend patients, chief executive officer Steve Gularte said. The hospital also has a hurricane plan in place, which is continually updated every few years.
“Power and water are the two things you’re most unlikely to get after a bad hurricane, so we always make sure our diesel tanks for the generators are topped off and we have plenty of water supplies,” he said.
Both El Campo Memorial Hospital and Matagorda General Hospital are also prepared to take in patients from surrounding hospitals that are in the path of a hurricane.
“We regularly give updates to the emergency management center about how many beds we have available and how many patients we can take in,” Renee Griffith, trauma coordinator with Matagorda General Hospital, said.
Local assisted living homes and nursing homes are also prepared for hurricanes and tropical storms.
At Hearthstone in Victoria, residents are given the option to go with family during an evacuation or be taken to the other Hearthstone facility in San Antonio, assistant general manager Patricia Nichols said.
With the latest updates of Tropical Storm Edouard looking like it’s going to miss Victoria and most of the surrounding area, no one is too worried about having to put their detailed hurricane plans into action. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t all still alert.
“We’ll still be vigilant. No one knows what could happen,” Kirk said. “But we’re ready for it.”