A Houston Health Center Meets Urgent Needs, Protects Long-Term Health in Beryl’s Aftermath

Michael Smith and his team were passing out water, food, ice, and other necessities in a densely populated Houston neighborhood when he found himself noticing the roofs.

Several roofs on the block had already been badly damaged - or torn off entirely - when a storm hit the city in May. They'd been partially repaired. And then, when Hurricane Beryl crashed through Houston last week, "they were torn off again," said Smith, chief program officer at the Houston-based Spring Branch Community Health Center. "These were the same individuals who were impacted by the storm in May, and they're still impacted."

Spring Branch, which cares for an underserved patient population at eight local health clinics, had been hit hard by the storm too. Four of its locations lost power. Staff members were contending with the same issues - damage, power outages, brutal heat - that were affecting their patients.

But leaders and staff alike were determined to be there for their communities. "We have a pretty vulnerable population. Their needs don't stop with a natural disaster," Smith said.

That involved simultaneously meeting the most urgent needs - like water, food, and wound care - while preserving continuity of care. Keeping scheduled appointments meant that patients managing chronic diseases, expectant parents worrying about their pregnancies, and kids needing vaccinations wouldn't slip through the cracks.

"The most vulnerable patients, they suffer during times like this," Smith said.

At the same time, people who depended on the health center as a community resource needed a place to find supplies and information, to get out of the unrelenting heat, and to charge their phones.

"It's seat of the pants when [a storm] hits, but we've been through several of these," said Gerard Peperone, Spring Branch's chief development officer. However, he said, having half the health center's clinics out of commission added a new wrinkle.

Health care providers would have to double up in the remaining facilities. Call center staff would need to alert patients that their appointment location had changed - and arrange transportation for those who were too far away.

Despite concerns about overcrowding, Smith recalled, the doubled-up clinics moved smoothly. People took refuge in the working air conditioning, patients met with providers, and "you saw phones literally sitting and charging in every corner of the building," he said.

Spring Branch's staff filled in the gaps with mobile medical units, which Peperone explained had been provided by Direct Relief after Hurricane Harvey caused widespread devastation in 2017. Staff distributed food and water, supplies donated through the work of local government and community organizations.

In addition, they opened a Direct Relief Hurricane Preparedness Kit, stored at the health center in advance of hurricane season for use in emergencies, to distribute medications and medical supplies.

Spring Branch's Family Development Center, located in a high-density Houston neighborhood with many immigrant families, was a particular concern. The power was out and providing care in the clinic wasn't an option. But the center, Smith said, is "kind of the hub in this area" - a place with an onsite Boys & Girls Club and a WIC program offered through University of Texas Health.

"When things like this happen, people generally flock over to the center for all kinds of services," he explained. "We always feel like we need to be present…Even if we can't help them, their house has been destroyed, they need a place to come."

Spring Branch staff set up a mobile clinic outside the center, so a provider could see people who came seeking health care. Smith noted that for many of them, having a provider see kids with respiratory or other illnesses was their top priority. Hot food was available, as was FEMA assistance.

At one point, Peperone remembered, rain started falling heavily while community members were picking up hot lunches. Staff and residents alike ran to move food and supplies into the clinic, so nothing would be lost.

When Smith and Peperone sat down to talk to Direct Relief, power was newly on at all locations. Air conditioners were cooling the overheated rooms so patients would have more places to take refuge. But it was clear that they weren't stopping for a rest.

"We're just at the beginning of hurricane season, and they're thinking that it's going to be a bad one," Peperone said. "We need to look at everything we've done this time, where are some of the holes that need to be plugged in."

Because hurricanes will increasingly be a way of life in Houston, which is located on the tropical storm-prone Gulf Coast, Peperone wants to make sure that everyone knows what works - and what to do - when disaster strikes.

"This was more than a dress rehearsal. It was a trial by fire," he explained. "We now have the components in place."

Smith agreed. "It's not a matter of if," he said. "It's a matter of when."

Direct Relief has worked with partners to meet emergency and medical needs caused by Hurricane Beryl since before the destructive storm made landfall. In Texas, the organization has dispatched requested medicines and supplies to a number of health centers, clinics, and others responding to the storm or caring for impacted patients. Shipments have included emergency health kits, each designed to provide medical care for 100 people for three to five days, emergency medical backpacks, hygiene kits, insulin, diabetes supplies, electrolytes, insect repellent, naloxone, personal protective equipment, prenatal vitamins, and other essential support.

Spring Branch Community Health Center received an emergency health kit, eight emergency medical backpacks, and 20 hygiene kits.

Direct Relief will continue to work closely with partners to meet health care needs in affected communities, and is committed to replenishing supplies and increasing medical resilience via its Hurricane Preparedness Program.

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