Silverado Strong: Facing Hurricane Beryl with Teamwork and Preparedness

Caring for residents with memory impairments or patients facing death requires exceptional levels of focus and expertise under the best of conditions, so unforeseen circumstances like a hurricane are the ultimate test of a care team. We’re proud to say that when Hurricane Beryl recently rolled through the Houston area, Silverado’s community and hospice teams stepped up to meet the challenge of keeping those under their care secure, comfortable and well cared-for!

Silverado has three locations in Houston: Silverado North Houston Hospice, Silverado South Houston Hospice and the Silverado Hermann Park Memory Care Community. While preparedness is a constant state for each location, Beryl’s powerful nature and uncertainties with Texas’ power grid created a unique set of complications.

At Silverado Hermann Park the week leading up to the storm’s arrival was one of checking and double checking – the community generator was tested, fuel supplies topped off, the pantry stocked, medications filled, and a general “battening down of the hatches” around the community performed. But preparedness isn’t just about shelter and supplies – our teams were also hard at work keeping families notified and planning activities and programming to help residents ride out the storm!

By the time Beryl came ashore and began battering Houston, Hermann Park was ready. Many associates volunteered to shelter in place at the community and watched the storm blow through. The community’s Nexus residents watched the weather channel and told stories about past storms and what it’s like to live on the Gulf Coast. After the worst of the storm had passed families flocked to the community to check in on loved ones and enjoy the air conditioning, as many area homes were still without power and the summer heat had returned with a vengeance.

The challenges faced by our hospice teams were even more intense. Many patients received care at their home or a facility, so the possibility of them being cut off or unreachable was considerable. Hospice teams spent the days leading up to the storm ensuring that patients were set up with all the medications and medical supplies (oxygen, etc.) they needed and that caregivers were prepared and trained for likely power outages and more.  Thanks to this preparedness, weathering the storm was much easier for the many patients under care.

The storm’s aftermath brought its own obstacles to overcome, the 90+ degree weather and oppressive humidity combining with extensive power and communication outages creating significant complications to providing the high levels of comfort and dignity to which our teams are dedicated. Seeing that these conditions were far from optimal for bedbound patients with not even so much as a fan, Silverado’s Houston hospice team began searching for temporary respite sites where patients could be comfortable and not forced to deal with the sweltering heat.

Aware of the difficulties Beryl’s aftermath caused, Silverado’s California-based executive team immediately acted, deciding to open the Hermann Park community to the hospice patients at no cost to the families. After a quick call between leadership and the hospice and community teams, the logistics were worked out and the team got to work informing the patients and their families.  As luck would have it power was restored soon after and the patients were able to stay in place comfortably, but the families were grateful at the possibility.

Whether it’s one associate helping out another or entire branches of the company coming together to ensure the best possible care for