A patient brought in by the U.S. Coast Guard on Aug. 29 arrives at the UTMB-Galveston campus. The Coast Guard helicopter landed on the athletic fields across the street from the Field House to deliver the patient.
UTMB employees worked around the clock at three campuses to care for patients in their communities. On Aug. 29, staff members coordinated with emergency personnel and partners around the country to get a shipment of needed blood to the UTMB Galveston Campus. The blood, which came from Indianapolis arrived by Blackhawk helicopter.
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center emergency room physician Dr. Jonmenjoy Biswas, M.D., checks in with his family overnight on Weds., Aug. 30. Biswas and more than 700 staff in Houston stayed at the hospital to ensure full operations.
Vietnam Veteran Herman Gipson, a dialysis patient from Beaumont, Texas, was recently airlifted to the Houston VA due to flooding from Hurricane Harvey. “I drove five-ton trucks in convoys during Vietnam,” Gipson said. “Myself and three fellow Veterans I served with in Vietnam all receive dialysis together from the same clinic in Beaumont. We were unable to get there during the hurricane.” (Photo: Joseph Bravenec III)
Steak 48 delivered steak sandwiches to staff at Ronald McDonald House Houston.
Fortunate to avoid flooding, UTHealth faculty members Gloria Salazar, M.D., and Jorge Escobar, M.D., went to the George R. Brown Emergency Shelter to help those displaced by rising water.
Being from the Philippines, UTHealth neurology fellow John Lyle Gomez, M.D., is very familiar with the destructive power of what Filipinos call typhoons. “I didn’t get flooded or lose power so I wanted to help,” said the Manila native who volunteered at the George R. Brown Convention Center emergency shelter.
Reaching out to others in a time of need at the George R. Brown emergency shelter are UTHealth volunteers Regina Troxell, M.D., Neeti Reddy, M.D., John Lyle Gomez, M.D., and Kennen Less, M.D.
When UTHealth School of Dentistry Dean John Valenza, D.D.S., put out the word for volunteers at the George R. Brown Convention Center's emergency shelter, the school responded big time.
Helping a patient with severe dental pain at the George R. Brown emergency shelter are, from left, UTHealth's Kristen Waheed and Diana Pham, D.D.S.
Resident physicians from the Texas A&M and DeTar Family Medicine Residency Program, a three-year program in collaboration with the Texas A&M Health Science Center, worked under extreme conditions to provide medical care during Hurricane Harvey from Friday to Sunday (Aug. 25-27) in Victoria.
Texas A&M School of Public Health faculty member Angela Clendenin, Ph.D., served as the public information officer for the Veterinary Emergency Team, which was essential in saving the lives of animals across the region.
Jennifer Horney, Ph.D., interim department head and associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Texas A&M School of Public Health, will be working with EpiAssist students in Houston to assess the public health impacts of exposure to contaminated floodwaters.
Texas A&M College of Medicine Houston campus students volunteered during the night shift Aug. 28 at the George R. Brown Convention Center, which is serving as a shelter for evacuees. Students worked with volunteer doctors and residents from area Texas Medical Center hospitals and other medical students from Baylor College of Medicine and McGovern Medical School, taking histories and assessments, performing physical exams and making plans for patients.
The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center remained open through Harvey, operated by about 700 staff members who made the facility their temporary home. They stayed to care for about 400 veterans who remained at the hospital, which is also serving as a shelter for homeless veterans and others. (Photo: Texas Military Department)
Chef Beatriz Martinez at Caracol, cooking food to be delivered to first responders helping with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, as well as Houston Methodist Hospital and CHI St. Luke’s Health.
Chef Hugo Ortega and members of his staff at Caracol, which delivered food to TMC employees at the Texas Medical Center who worked through the storm and flooding.
Bernie's Burger Bus delivered meals to Texas Children's Hospital - West Campus on Aug. 30. (Via Twitter: @txchildrenswest)
Costco delivered supplies for Texas Children's Hospital on Aug. 30. (Via Twitter: @TexasChildrens)
Chick-fil-a dropped off meals at Texas Children's main campus on Aug. 28. (Via Twitter: @TexasChildrens)
Houston Food Bank volunteers hard at work.
Directions for packing donation boxes at the Houston Food Bank.
Brian Greene, president and CEO of Houston Food Bank, checks cases of diapers.
Employees who rode out the storm working at Texas Children's Hospital prepare carry their belongings home. (Credit: Allen S. Kramer)
(Credit: Allen S. Kramer)
Texas Children's staff members embrace after the storm. (Credit: Allen S. Kramer)
The therapy night shift at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital – pictured in high spirits, ready to serve their patients with a smile – at 5 a.m. in the middle of Harvey.
Team members from the CIMU (Cardiology Intermediate Unit) at Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular Institute-Texas Medical Center, pictured on shift during Hurricane Harvey.
Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center leadership, including the hospital’s Chief Operating Officer Tom Flanagan (pictured), steps in to help serve food in the hospital cafeteria to employees, patients and guests during Harvey.
A group of Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital nurses who rode out the storm at the hospital for 100 hours during Harvey.
Members of the Fetal Center at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital team scrub in and get ready to head into the OR for a procedure during Hurricane Harvey.
Members of the Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital team, including CEO Susie Distefano (pictured third from left), step in to help serve food in the hospital cafeteria to employees, patients and guests during Harvey.
Snapshots

Harvey’s Heroes at the TMC

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By Maggie Galehouse & Shea Connelly September 1, 2017

Harvey’s Heroes at the TMC

Beloved children’s TV host Fred Rogers said, in times of disaster, to “look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” As Hurricane Harvey rocked Southeast Texas this past week, the Texas Medical Center was full of helpers, from the dedicated doctors, nurses and staff who worked around the clock for days to ensure all patients were safe and well cared for, to the local businesses that delivered food to employees and patients in need.

The Texas Medical Center is grateful to all who gave their time and resources to keep this medical center running as smoothly as possible during such a difficult time. Click through the photo gallery above to see just a small sample of the generosity displayed at TMC and beyond over the past week.

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