13 Investigates why some nursing facilities still don't have power
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- George Harvey spends most days in bed at a nursing facility on the outskirts of Houston's Texas Medical Center.
But, despite his proximity to what CenterPoint Energy has called its priority for restoring power, Harvey's daughters say he's been roasting inside the nursing home for days.
"My message to CenterPoint is to please prioritize healthcare facilities like this," Harvey's daughter, Allison Evans, told 13 Investigates. "I know that my father's story is one of many, but people are dependent on power, not just to keep cool, but for their medical machines, for dialysis machines, for oxygen machines, and it kind of feels like we've been left out to die for those who have been stuck in these facilities."
13 Investigates spoke with 41 of the 98 freestanding nursing facilities in Harris County on Thursday to see how many are still waiting for power four days after the storm.
Our investigation found that as of late Thursday morning, at least 11 of those nursing facilities still had not fully restored their power.
RELATED: CenterPoint admits 'clearly more needs to be done'
Some facilities told us they had generators to power life-saving equipment but not air conditioners. Another facility told us it has portable ACs, but they are not enough to cool the place fully. Some facilities said CenterPoint provided them with mobile generation units to help them power their facilities until electricity could be fully restored.
"We prioritize restoration for critical services and evaluate all options to serve, including mobile generation. When restoring power, we begin with facilities vital to safety, health, and welfare, such as hospitals, water treatment plants, and public service facilities," CenterPoint told 13 Investigates.
Although CenterPoint said it prioritizes facilities like nursing homes, the grid is complicated, and nursing homes are just one of many critical customers on its long list of priorities.
The company also told us that some nursing homes have old infrastructure or are incompatible with the mobile generation units it provides.
Greg Shelley, manager of the Harris County Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston, said that in addition to nursing homes, about 17 assisted living facilities are without power, and the majority of them don't have generators.
According to a 2022 report from the Health and Human Services Commission, assisted living facilities are not required to have a generator. Nursing facilities are required to have a generator that powers items like oxygen alarm systems, lighting, telephone equipment, and nurse call systems.
However, nursing facility administrators 13 Investigates spoke with said they aren't required to have generators to back up their AC.
Shelley said he would love more requirements for nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
"We've been sounding that alarm for years, kind of wishing that we would get these rules in place that would require at least generators in all assisted (living facilities) and better ones overall - ones that can indeed power enough heating and ventilation to keep people cool or to keep people warm as we remember from Winter Storm Uri," Shelley said. "When we're dealing with heat and we're dealing with older folks who are really susceptible to hyperthermia and their bodies heat up rapidly, and if we can't keep them cool, they're in actually a truly dangerous situation,"
Evans said she talks to her dad daily at St. Dominic Village, where her dad is currently staying.
"I talked to him this morning, and everybody is pretty upset, and they're pretty scared there because they don't know what's going on or why it's happening and when it's going to come back," Evans said. "So he's pretty scared about his wellbeing and the wellbeing of those who he's befriended there."
13 Investigates spoke with St. Dominic's interim CEO, John Connolly, who told us that 70% of its residents had electricity early Thursday morning.
Connolly said that before Thursday, the facility had generators, but they didn't power the entire AC system. He said they had spot coolers and chillers to help residents stay cool.
He also said that in the initial 24 hours after the storm, there weren't many updates from CenterPoint, but over the last two days, the company has been more engaged, including providing them with a generator.
Still, Evans called the slow power restoration to nursing homes a "giant misstep for CenterPoint."
"We all knew that it was going to hit Houston, and it's a huge wakeup call that our infrastructure needs to be updated to support these types of storms that are common here in Houston," Evans said.
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