Hospitals working to conserve water as most vulnerable remain top of mind

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — As millions of residents in Harris County continue to have water issues from low pressure to have no water at all, the Houston-area’s hospital systems say they are open and operating, but many are under water conservation.

At Texas Children’s Hospital, two of its three campuses have reduced water pressure. The same goes for Ben Taub Hospital, LBJ Hospital, and Memorial Hermann.

“You have to remember, the folks at the hospitals are the most vulnerable folks,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Wednesday.

As we’re still facing the COVID-19 crisis, hospitals are also taking in patients with hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning. Memorial Hermann said they’ve seen 100 CO poisoning cases since Monday.

Doctors calling it a “very serious public health emergency” tell  “We have seen both adults and patients in our emergency rooms as people without power do anything they can to keep their families warm.”

Now, with low water pressure and many cities under a boil advisory, hospitals continue to persevere.

“It creates problems for just the general operation of the hospital … think cleaning, toilets, that kind of thing,” said Hidalgo.

As area leaders work to restore this basic utility, the goal is to push through together.

“We are working with the state to bring in additional water,” said Mark Sloan, the emergency management coordinator for Harris County. “We have found additional resources for them when we can. We are all in this together, but our hospitals, [Hidalgo] mentioned, is where the most vulnerable are impacted by this, and the focus is to get them online as quickly and as effectively as possible.”