TMC PULSE

T M C » P U L S E | A U G U S T 2 0 1 8 16 W hen Hurricane Harvey dumped more than 51 inches of rain on the Houston area last August, the Texas Medical Center (TMC) rallied by proving that a sophisticated floodgate network and other improvements made since Tropical Storm Allison could protect the world's largest medical city. But the 2018 hurricane season, which extends through Nov. 30, brings new opportunities to safe- guard both patients and employees in the event of another epic storm. This spring, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) added Laverne—a military surplus high-water vehicle—to its fleet in response to Harvey. "We have critical folks who would love to be able to get in to take care of patients, but they can't get there and the resources for the city of Houston are so tapped that the decision was made that we would procure an elevated large vehicle—a five-ton military surplus truck—so that if there are key indi- viduals that need to get in and out, docs and nurses, it could be done safely," said Robert "Safety Bob" Emery, Dr.P.H., UTHealth's vice president of safety, health, environ- ment and risk management. Laverne's sister transport, Shirley, arrived a few weeks later. The play on the classic TV sitcom "Laverne & Shirley" is one of the more novel responses to hurri- cane challenges faced by TMC institutions. Berms, walls and flood doors pro- tected the campus during Harvey, but surrounding flooding impeded employees from traveling to the medical center. "Ride-out teams" are typically prepared to ride out a storm at work for two or three days. That issue gave UTHealth offi- cials the idea to procure high-water vehicles, Emery said. "The flooding was so extensive from Harvey that some of these folks stayed here for six days and that's very problematic in getting that next wave of replacements in," Emery said. "Some of these things are 24/7. Obviously, you've got health care, but we've also got organ transplants, we've got animals that have to be fed and research projects that are time dependent, so one of the things we really re-examined was the length of time that the ride-out teams might be expected to be here—and I think that's a lesson learned by some others around the Texas Medical Center, as well." Tropical Storm Allison devas- tated the TMC in 2001 by dropping more than 40 inches of rain in Sgt. Scott Barnwell, of The University of Texas Police at Houston, prepares to drive one of two high-water vehicles purchased after Hurricane Harvey to transport essential personnel during widespread flooding. The UT System, which operates UTHealth and MD Anderson Cancer Center, bought the trucks. Primed for the Storm What Harvey and Allison taught the Texas Medical Center B y C i n d y G e o r g e h u r r i c a n e r e a d y

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