BAYTOWN, Texas — Across Southeast Texas, at least 36 nursing homes and 61 assisted living facilities were still without power on Friday, according to the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council (SETRAC).
They're among more than 923,000 CenterPoint customers who don't have power yet days after Hurricane Beryl slammed into the Houston area.
Families with loved ones in those impacted senior communities tell KHOU 11, they've grown increasingly concerned.
Janet Martinez said her parents, both in their 80s, are residents at St. James House of Baytown.
“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 said. “They’re sitting in there and it’s so hot. It’s concerning. These facilities should take priority.”
The St. James facility includes both a nursing home and an assisted living complex, where Martinez said her parents reside. While the nursing home has a generator, the assisted living units do not, according to facility employees.
Martinez said her parents tried to stay cool by using fans and visiting the common areas of the nursing home. However, on Thursday, they decided it was enough.
“They’re hanging in there, and they’re stubborn,” Martinez said. “But after today, they said it’s so hot, I think we’re going to move them tomorrow to a hotel.”
Over the years, she’s come to know other residents at the facility – and she’s concerned about them too.
“I feel so bad for these people because I can’t do more to help,” she said. “It’s just emotional and stressful, and you just see them just giving up, they’re so exhausted and they’re just so tired of not having power.”
Texas state law does not require assisted living facilities to have generators but nursing facilities are legally required to have them.
In a press conference Thursday, state emergency management officials 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 would hold senior facility operators accountable if they did not keep residents safe.
“That location is responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of the patients and residents that are there, it is that facility’s responsibility,” he said.