The Episcopal Diocese of Texas leaves seniors sweltering following Beryl-generated power outages

By Thursday afternoon (July 11) — three days following Beryl’s exit — the number of customers without power dipped below one million, yet at least 500,000 of those who had lost power might still be waiting until next week for electricity to be restored to their properties. Post Beryl July temperatures have already soared into the mid to upper 90s with heat indexes hitting triple digits.

The power outages were split basically between CenterPoint (which is on the self-contained Texas ERCOT power grid) and Entergy (which is the Texas spillover of the Louisiana power grid).

CenterPoint has more than 2.2 million customers with 50,000 miles of line stretching from Harris County (Houston) to Fort Bend County and Brazoria County to Galveston Island; while the smaller Entergy-Texas has fewer than 500,000 customers with 14,000 miles of line strung from Beaumont to Bryan/College Station and The Woodlands to Huntsville.

As the powerless week wore on Houston television stations were sniffing out the story that some of those without power were the elderly stuck in nursing homes and assisted living facilities or high rise condominiums peopled by retirees. All were plunged into heat and darkness as one Houston reporter said that it resulted in “lifeless elevators with hot hallways and dark rooms.”

Fox 26 pointed out that tenants in the 18-story high rise Timber Top Condominiums in northwestern Harris County faced particular challenges because of the number of floors. Particularly when the elevator gave up the ghost.

KPRC-2 also found that the Treemont Senior Living Community in Houston also did not have a working elevator due to the power loss leaving some upper floor residents unable to get outside.

Many mobility impaired residents are stuck on upper floors until the elevators are again powered.

ABC 13 (KTRK) zeroed in on St. Dominic’s Village, a multi venue retirement campus owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston which includes independent living, assisted living, a rehabilitation center, with an attached nursing home, and the retired priests’ suites.

But the pièce de resistance came from KHOU which reported on the Episcopal Diocese of Texas’ St. James House in Baytown. A community is about a half an hour east of Houston.

The brick sign says that St. James House was founded in 1960. The pillar sports the Diocese of Texas shield.

According to its website: “St. James House is a 105 bed facility that provides skilled nursing care and rehabilitation services. In addition, our beautiful Alexander Hall, with 40 apartment units, provides complete independent living to older adults.”

Alexander Hall apartments are located on ten wooded acres of St. James House property where residents enjoy gracious carefree independent living where they can stroll along the winding paths, view nature’s beauty and enjoy their grandchildren.

KHOU revealed that although St. James House (the nursing home) has an operating generator, which is making life bearable during the immediate post Beryl power outages, the residents at Alexander Hall were not so well cared for. They were left sweltering in the oppressive July heat.

Following the storm St. James House posted on Facebook: “Just wanted to update everyone!! Residents here at St. James are fine. No flooding or damage to the building. The generator is working and we are staffed.”

No mention was made of conditions at Alexander Hall.

“Texas state law does not require assisted living facilities to have generators but nursing facilities are legally required to have them,” explained KHOU reporter Stephen Goin in reporting his story.

So technically the Diocese of Texas is operating within the law with St. James House but it is not showing much care nor concern for the residents sweating it out at Alexander Hall.

However, St. James House did give a special Facebook shout out to Exxon following Beryl. “We appreciate ExxonMobil’s support with our generator and the thoughtful people who check on St. James. You are indeed a blessing.”

Again, no mention was made of Alexander Hall.

One daughter has had enough. Janet Martinez has found the situation at Alexander Hall untenable. Her 80-something parents are residents at the St. James House independent living complex.

“My dad’s on oxygen, my mom requires medication that has to be chilled and the ice only lasts so long in the ice chest,” she told KHOU. “They’re sitting in there and it’s so hot. It’s concerning. These facilities should take priority.”

Her parents have tried to deal with the heat by visiting the cooled common areas of the nursing home. But Mrs. Martinez says that for her parents’ well-being it’s time to bring her folks to a hotel until the power is fully restored at Alexander Hall.

In a press conference Thursday, Texas emergency management officials, including the lieutenant governor, expressed concern about senior living facilities impacted by Hurricane Beryl.

In response to reporter questions, Texas Director of Emergency Management Nim Kidd said the State of Texas would hold senior living complexes accountable if they did not keep their residents safe.

“We’re seeing senior living centers where residents haven’t had power for days,” a reporter prefaced in the televised news conference. “My question is: who is responsible for getting generators to those vulnerable seniors who don’t have power? Who’s responsible for that?”

“The facility owner,” Kidd quickly answered.

“Yes,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick affirmed.

Lt. Gov. Patrick has been front and center in leading the State of Texas’ before, during and after Hurricane Beryl made landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast. He is sitting in for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who is overseas on a pre-planned multinational economic trade mission.

“If they are a licensed entity by the State of Texas, then they will be held accountable for that,” Kidd continued. “But when you spend money in a location to put your loved one in that location, that location is responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of the patients and residents that are there, it is that facility’s responsibility.”

Kidd understands the difficulties that hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes, and senior living centers are being faced with in the wake of Hurricane Beryl.

“Listen, some of those facilities have done great work,” he said without dropping names.

Thursday the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council, noted that across the southeastern Texas storm zone at least 50 nursing homes and 66 assisted living facilities were still without online power, including St. James House and Alexander Hall. In addition the Texas Division of Emergency Management reported that 12 hospitals are still operating in disaster mode and 43 dialysis centers are dealing with ongoing power issues.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline

The Episcopal Diocese of Texas leaves seniors sweltering following Beryl-generated power outages
State officials plan to take action

By Mary Ann Mueller
VOL Special Correspondent
www.virtueonline.org
July 12, 2024

When Beryl crossed into Texas in the predawn hours of Monday (July 8) it visited the state as a Category 1 hurricane packing winds of 80 mph with 100 mph gusts.

The hurricane, which days before tracked across the Caribbean as a strong Category 5 storm, lost much of its punch dancing across the Barberos Islands, Jamaica, and the Yucatán, but it still had enough strength to cause massive power outages across the Houston metroplex and neighboring regions. By the time Beryl left the area nearly three million (2.7 million) Texans were left without power.