After Hurricane Beryl, a senior resident at Scott Street Lofts Apartments in East Downtown was left without power and water.
“I used to clean myself with cold water like everyone else here as I had buckets filled with water,” said the anonymous resident, who fears eviction and prefers to remain unnamed.
She spent four days without power in her complex and had to find ways to stay cool. One of the ways she found was to volunteer at her church.
She expressed her fear, stating that the situation was entirely new to her. “It was scary because I’ve never been through a situation like that before,” she said.
During triple-digit heat indexes, Beryl caused a widespread power outage that affected 2.2 million customers in the Houston region, making it the largest power outage in CenterPoint Energy’s history.
The impact of a power outage can be daunting for anyone, but the elderly are particularly susceptible to extreme temperatures. The aftermath of this hurricane serves as a stark reminder of this fact.
The hurricane has been linked to 36 deaths in Harris, Fort Bend, Galveston, Matagorda, and Montgomery counties. The majority of those who passed away were 60 years and older, accounting for 75% of Beryl’s death toll.
Hundreds of thousands of Houstonians were left without air conditioning for days, and some even weeks, in the sweltering heat following Hurricane Beryl. As a result, most deaths occurred in the days following the hurricane.
The primary reason for death was overheating, commonly referred to as hyperthermia.
In light of the ongoing power crisis in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has issued a number of demands to Centerpoint. One of these demands is that the company must come up with a plan by Wednesday to ensure that senior facilities either have continuous power or that their power is restored promptly in case of outages.
CenterPoint Energy CEO Jason Wells faced a state Senate select committee earlier this week. The committee questioned him for hours about the company’s preparation for the storm, its failure to maintain the online outage tracker, and its five-year plan to protect power lines from trees.
CenterPoint has run out of favor with Houston Mayor John Whitmire, who has expressed his frustration with the company.
He declared, “There are no more excuses. CenterPoint has a substantial return, and they must allocate it towards their readiness, functioning, and recuperation.”
Letitia Plummer, a City Council Member at Houston, is advocating for more stringent regulations on senior living complexes.
Plummer is currently advocating for a change in the regulations that require nursing homes to have generators, while assisted living and independent living communities are not mandated to do so by the state.
She insisted that senior living facilities must have at least one floor with a generator that cools everything, allowing the seniors to plug in their necessary equipment. Additionally, the generator should be connected to the elevator as well.
Barbara Baltazar is the name of the person mentioned in the paragraph.
According to Plummer, the installation of generators in all senior complexes is not just to ensure comfort, but to make the facility livable.
“It’s a health risk and makes it inhabitable when you go ten days without electricity, especially if you require oxygen.”
Houstonians are urging CenterPoint to prioritize keeping the lights on instead of just equipping senior facilities with generators to prepare for power outages.
Barbara Baltazar’s mother, known as Barbara Elaine, is a resident of Sharpview Residence and Rehabilitation Center along with 85 other seniors. Despite the six-day power outage, they were fortunate to have access to a generator that provided power to essential medical equipment and kept a series of fans running in the hallway.
Barbara Baltazar observed that the staff, including nurses, nurse administrators, and handymen, were all drenched in sweat. However, the residents were not affected by the heat.
At the age of 76, Barbara Elaine faces the challenges of severe rheumatoid arthritis. Due to limited mobility caused by a hip replacement, she decided to relocate to Sharpsville.
When Barbara Baltazar’s mother informed her that their neighborhood facility had lost power, she was completely taken aback. After all, the facility was located just down the street from their home.
With complete sincerity, she expressed her disbelief, “I would have bet my money on my mom having power because of her stay at the nursing home.”
According to Barbara Baltazar, her mother is in good health and quite strong. However, her concern lies with the other residents who may be more vulnerable. She specifically mentioned her roommate, Barbara Elaine, who relies on a feeding tube and an oxygen machine.
In the forthcoming legislative session, State Rep. Jarvis Johnson, who represents areas of Houston, has expressed his intention of fortifying the regulations for senior facilities.
Johnson emphasized the importance of implementing measures for those who are living in care facilities. He stated that paying for care also comes with the responsibility of ensuring that proper measures are in place to guarantee quality care.
According to him, CenterPoint is anticipated to take significant steps towards fortifying Houston’s power infrastructure in the near future.
“The storm is on its way, and we are currently located in Houston, Texas,” states the speaker.