In times of emergencies and large-scale disasters, HCA Healthcare applies our scale and experience to ensure continuity of care so that patients and communities can continue to rely on us. Over the years, we have prepared for and responded to natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes and tornadoes – as well as man-made crises like major car accidents and mass shootings. Ahead of the 2024 hurricane season, which spans from June 1 to November 30, HCA Healthcare held an annual enterprise-wide hurricane readiness briefing to update and equip hospitals.
“With planning and preparation, HCA Healthcare is able to stay at the ready to care for our colleagues and patients and respond to what we expect to be a more active 2024 hurricane season,” said Mike Wargo, vice president and chief of HCA Healthcare’s Enterprise Emergency Operations. “It’s not a matter of ‘if’ a hurricane or tropical storm will make landfall near or impact one of our hospitals, but ‘when.’ It’s our job to ensure we have the infrastructure and systems in place to ensure seamless, uncompromised patient care.”
Preparing for the storm
With dozens of hospitals in hurricane-prone regions like Florida, Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina and Georgia, HCA Healthcare also works diligently to stay up to date on current and expected weather trends. Ahead of hurricane season, we leverage strategic partnerships with weather forecasting agencies and utilize real-time alerting technology. During HCA Healthcare’s hurricane season readiness briefing, StormGeo Weather shared the factors influencing the tropical Atlantic Basin in 2024:
- The end of El Niño and return of La Niña
- Higher-than-normal water temperature across the tropical Atlantic
- Analog seasons showing above normal risk areas across the Atlantic
So far, the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season has brought six named storms and the earliest Category 5 storm on record.
As soon as the HCA Healthcare’s Enterprise Emergency Operations Center (EEOC) identifies potential hurricane events, we mobilize to help provide affected hospitals with everything they need to continue providing care. The EEOC can redirect the organization’s supply chain to get medical supplies, equipment and care teams to impacted areas to offer assistance. The EEOC pre-positions resources, including temporary generators, flood mitigation assets, bulk water and fuel supply, and maintains agreements with air and ground transport providers to ensure we can safely transport our patients to areas outside of a storm’s path.
Navigating the storm
Throughout a hurricane or natural disaster, our EEOC remains in constant communication with hospital, division and corporate leadership so our colleagues are equipped to safely serve our patients and communities. Additionally, caregivers are stationed at our hospitals – sometimes with overnight bags – to help calm the nerves of patients, maintain safety and continue to provide uninterrupted care.
Other tools include:
Flood control barriers
This year, HCA Healthcare stationed Incident Support Trailers equipped with 3,000 feet of flood control barriers and storm readiness equipment. The bright orange flood control solution has 50-foot sections that can be set up on a variety of surfaces and can be stacked to reach the needed height of flood protection. The pyramid-shaped structure forms a barrier to protect buildings, such as our hospitals and additional sites of care.
EvacuNATE
In the event that patients need to be transferred to keep out of harm’s way, we utilize evacuNATE, an algorithm developed by HCA Healthcare, designed to gauge de-risking or evacuation needs in real-time for a hospital or facility. The platform is able to show individual patient needs and other considerations needed such as alternative care options to make informed decisions around individual patient transfers.
Incident Support Team
To strengthen HCA Healthcare’s ability to respond to emergency events, the EEOC introduced Incident Support Teams (ISTs) in 2020. Today, more than 125 IST members across HCA Healthcare are trained annually on how to effectively respond to events impacting patient care or colleague wellness. All ISTs are part of the Enterprise Emergency Operations Program, made up of corporate, division and hospital-based clinicians, leaders and executives from numerous states across our organization who are cross-trained as incident response personnel during events such as hurricanes. Specialty ISTs include Neonatal Intensive Care Transport Teams, Behavioral Health Response Specialists and Enterprise Downtime Response Specialists.
Caring for our colleagues
Once the storm’s threat level declines, HCA Healthcare colleagues and volunteers work to perform wellness checks with each colleague in the path of the hurricane. Additionally, our human resources and supply chain teams may set up on-site mini-marts, fuel stations, showers and laundry services to assist facilities, colleagues and nearby health systems in need.
Did you know? The HCA Healthcare Hope Fund provided 43 grants totaling more than $109,000 to colleagues and their families impacted by Hurricane Idalia in 2023.
HCA Healthcare Hope Fund
At HCA Healthcare, it is our priority to take care of our patients, as well as each other. The HCA Healthcare Hope Fund is a 501(c)3 public charity that provides emergency funds to colleagues when significant hardships arise due to illness, injury, natural disaster or other difficult situations.
After hundreds of Florida colleagues were hit by devastating hurricanes in 2004, HCA Healthcare colleagues throughout the country contributed donations for those who had been impacted. What began as an informal way to help soon evolved into the HCA Healthcare Hope Fund, run by colleagues, for colleagues. In 2005, as the Hope Fund was ramping up operations and Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, HCA Healthcare gave an additional $4 million to help colleagues in need after the storm.
To date, the Hope Fund has surpassed $100 million in grants awarded since its founding. HCA Healthcare colleagues can visit the Hope Fund’s website to learn more and apply to request assistance.
2024 hurricane hero stories
Hurricane Beryl
On July 3, 2024, HCA Healthcare’s EEOC was activated in preparation for potential threats to our hospitals related to Hurricane Beryl, expected to impact the Gulf Coast of Texas.
On July 8, 2024, Beryl made landfall in Texas, knocking out power to more than 2.5 million homes. The widespread power outages that lasted days and the triple-digit heat index in the aftermath of the storm posed dangerous conditions for those without air conditioning.
“When disaster strikes, our communities are counting on us to be there,” shared Tony Villarreal, HCA Healthcare’s Gulf Coast Division vice president. “Before, during and after the storm, the commitment displayed by our colleagues enabled us to remain open for our communities at a time when they needed us the most.”
As Hurricane Beryl was initially headed towards Corpus Christi, Texas, HCA Healthcare’s collaborative network allowed Corpus Christi Medical Center to safely transport eight NICU babies and six high-risk OB patients to HCA Healthcare affiliate Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio. The transfer of these patients was a remarkable exercise in coordination and communication, orchestrated by dozens and dozens of colleagues.
The morning the storm came through, our Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) team members at The Woman’s Hospital of Texas in Houston served a free, hot meal – named “Breakfast with Beryl” – to over 420 patients and colleagues. And although generator power allowed HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake to continue operations, elevators temporarily went down during lunch service. Colleagues came together to carry nearly 150 meal trays up the flights of stairs to deliver to patient rooms. Many non-clinical team members provided support to the FNS team to retrieve patient trays, wash dishes and more.
Colleagues were also able to help their fellow team members apply for assistance from the Hope Fund in the wake of the storm. To date, more than 880 colleagues and their families have received financial assistance as a result of Hurricane Beryl, totaling more than $645,000.
Hurricane Debby
On August 6, 2024, Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 1 hurricane. The slow-moving tropical system brought torrential rain and high winds as it passed through Florida and Georgia before making a second landfall along the South Carolina coast. With HCA Healthcare’s EEOC activated prior to the hurricane making landfall, our teams were able to prepare and ensure we could continue taking care of patients.
At HCA Florida Brandon Hospital in Brandon, Florida, eleven moms-to-be were in labor while Hurricane Debby’s winds were gusting. Throughout the night and into the day, babies were safely welcomed into this world with the help of HCA Healthcare colleagues.
In the Florida communities that were most impacted, mini marts were set up at our facilities to support our colleagues and their families. At HCA Florida Lake City Hospital in North Florida, everything from food to school supplies was provided to colleagues at no cost as they cared for patients during and after the hurricane.
“I have worked the last 8 out of 10 days to care for patients before, during and after the storm. Because of the storm, I wasn’t able to get school supplies for my three children. It’s great being able to get off work and have it available – it’s amazing. I got snacks for the kids for school, fresh fruits, bread and school supplies. It’s been a very tough week, but this has taken the weight off me.”
michele Bradley, ICU nurse, HCA Florida Lake City Hospital
The Hope Fund also assisted colleagues in the wake of Hurricane Debby, providing more than $45,000 to colleagues impacted by the storm.