Article

Winter storms relief efforts: HCA Healthcare and its affiliated hospitals in Texas to contribute $250,000

l3kb_Winter Storm Relief press release social graphics_square 1

Today, HCA Healthcare announced $250,000 in contributions on behalf of our organization and affiliated hospitals in Texas to support relief efforts by charitable organizations, including the American Red Cross, in several communities throughout the state affected by February’s winter storms.

Texas is home to approximately 70,000 HCA Healthcare colleagues who work at the organization’s 46 affiliated hospitals and surgery centers and other sites of care across the state.

Blue water tanker truck on a snowy road on a sunny day
February’s winter storms caused disruption to municipal water supply. HCA Healthcare’s Enterprise Emergency Operations Center (EEOC) deployed water tanker trucks to impacted hospitals to provide supplemental water. (Pictured: water tanker truck at affiliate St. David’s South Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas)

Prior to the storm, HCA Healthcare’s enterprise emergency operations center in Nashville, a multi-disciplinary incident response team of nearly 200 members, was activated to provide support to its Texas hospitals. This 24/7 coordinated effort helped ensure hospitals had the resources needed to continue providing patient care before, during and after storms.

In case you missed it:

Michael Wargo, HCA Healthcare vice president & chief of enterprise preparedness and emergency operations joined WGN’s NewsNation Now to speak on our organization’s response to the major winter and ice storms that had widespread impacts across the U.S. Watch his interview here.

Female healthcare worker holding a box of vegetables
HCA Healthcare colleagues at Medical City Las Colinas in Irving, Texas pack food boxes for staff families in need during February 2021’s winter storms.

During the extended power outages brought on by the storms, HCA Healthcare hospitals set up onsite Mini-Marts to provide hospital staff access to critical household goods in short supply in their communities, including grab and go meals, fresh produce, hygiene kits and paper products.

In some cases, fuel trucks were stationed at the hospitals to assist employees with transportation. Additionally, HCA Healthcare helped coordinate home repair services for colleagues’ homes that were damaged in the storms.

“Never before has a natural disaster directly impacted so many of our colleagues and our facilities, and it continues to affect the entire state,” said Sam Hazen, chief executive officer of HCA Healthcare. “I’m incredibly proud of the way our caregivers and teams in Texas stepped up to care for their neighbors and each other, and it is important that we are part of the recovery efforts.”

Female nurse wearing personal protective equipment standing next to a dialysis machine
With many outpatient dialysis facilities forced to close due to storm-related power outages and water shortages, the HCA Houston Healthcare North Cypress‘ dialysis units ran 24 hours per day. HCA Healthcare dialysis nurse Min Zhao was among the many colleagues who served as a beacon of hope for the influx of dialysis patients at her hospital.

Helping Texas neighbors in need

HCA Healthcare and its affiliated hospitals in Austin, El Paso, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, San Antonio, Houston, Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley will contribute to the following organizations:

Over the last five years, HCA Healthcare has provided $4.5 million in financial support to the Red Cross for disaster relief efforts, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017. HCA Healthcare supports the Red Cross through a yearly $500,000 contribution to the organization’s Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP), which helps the Red Cross to respond immediately to disasters, help families during the recovery process and prepare people for future emergencies.

Two female healthcare workers giving thumbs up sign as one donates blood
February’s cold, snow and ice caused cancellations of blood drives across the nation. Colleagues at Medical City Dallas Hospital encouraged their community to schedule, when travel was safe, donation appointments to address critical blood shortages.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, one of the nation's leading providers of healthcare services, is comprised of 183 hospitals and more than 2,300 sites of care, in 20 states and the United Kingdom. Our more than 283,000 colleagues are connected by a single purpose — to give patients healthier tomorrows.

As an enterprise, we recognize the significant responsibility we have as a leading healthcare provider within each of the communities we serve, as well as the opportunity we have to improve the lives of the patients for whom we are entrusted to care. Through the compassion, knowledge and skill of our caregivers, and our ability to leverage our scale and innovative capabilities, HCA Healthcare is in a unique position to play a leading role in the transformation of care.

Recent articles