Texas nursing homes brace for Hurricane Harvey

Nursing homes in coastal Texas are implementing their evacuation plans as Hurricane Harvey grew to Category 4 strength Friday afternoon. The storm, currently churning off the coast of Corpus Christi, is expected to make landfall sometime late Friday night. Officials have ordered mandatory evacuations for all seven coastal counties from Corpus Christi to Galveston Island.

All 90 residents at Gulf Point Plaza in Rockport, Texas, near Corpus Christi, were transported Thursday night to Park Manor, a sister facility in Bee Cave, Texas, some 200 miles inland near Austin. “We’re going to be doubling overnight so we have to pull all the resources available,” Park Manor administrator Cory Hawkins told KXAN-news.

The staff of Park Manor welcomes its emergency arrivals [via Facebook, Park Manor]

The hosting facility is using its therapy gym to house 14 beds and has doubled up other resident rooms to accommodate its emergency visitors. Park Manor also has added overtime shifts to more than 100 employees through the weekend. “Life is unpredictable, but what is predictable is how we treat others,” says Johnielle Johnson, Park Manor’s director of nursing, who made sure a big welcome sign was ready for the arrivals.

The effects of Hurricane Harvey are expected to last for several days beyond the storm itself. The Texas Health Care Association issued an Emergency Status notice Thursday with instructions for the continuation of MDS and care plan data during the storm.

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Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.