Protecting seniors in storms: Texas lawmakers eye emergency preparedness after Beryl

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Texas lawmakers heard concerns this week about how long it took to restore power for vulnerable seniors following Hurricane Beryl.

The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services was tasked with reviewing and making any necessary recommendations about the current emergency protocols for facilities housing older people and people with intellectual disabilities.

In a hearing on Wednesday, lawmakers heard testimony about people's experiences during and after the July storm.

"So, you have a facility with over 100 residents relying on ventilators, oxygen, dialysis..." said Laurie Christensen, Harris County Fire Marshal. "Imagine that failing during a power outage. Imagine the heat index getting up, well over 85 degrees. Imagine that their lives are hanging in the balance – well, this is a true story that actually happened during Hurricane Beryl."

Michelle Dionne-Vahalik, the Associate Commissioner for Long Term Care Regulation for Texas Health and Human Services, testified about how the requirements for backup power and emergency preparedness differ, depending on the type of facility.

• To read the requirements for different types of long-term care facilities, click here

For example, state law does not require assisted living facilities to have a generator, while skilled nursing facilities have faced that requirement for years, at the federal level.

Christensen noted the current law only requires generators to power certain emergency functions, such as elevators or lighting, and does not necessarily mean the air-conditioning, heat or other functions will be powered.

“The absence of robust power systems has put lives at risk," she told lawmakers.

KXAN investigators followed legislative efforts to expand generator requirements in the state following a deadly winter storm in 2021. Lawmakers instead decided to send out a survey in order to get a better idea of what backup power sources already exist.

In Wednesday's hearing, Dionne-Vahalik noted more than half of the state's assisted living facilities are small homes located in residential neighborhoods.

She testified the agency received 32 of what it calls "intakes" during Beryl. Those were either complaints from residents or the public about long-term care facilities not complying with regulations or notifications from facilities "self-reporting" an outage. She also told lawmakers the agency made hundreds of calls to check on facilities in Harris County and the surrounding areas.

Lawmakers also discussed power outages at independent senior living facilities and apartment complexes, which are not regulated by Texas Health and Human Services. Senator Borris Miles said that some of these complexes receive federal tax credits and specifically market to seniors. He expressed frustration they weren't held to higher standards for the older residents living there.

"We're abandoning them," Senator Miles said.

Senator Charles Perry noted it's a matter of deciding to regulate these locations further. However, he added that any such effort would face pushback and would come at a cost that the current federal funding involved wouldn't necessarily cover.

"To your point, we market these to our most vulnerable population -- that are literally saving money by not being in nursing homes, that are independent enough to have that lifestyle, and we support that -- but it is just a matter of doing it," Perry said. "It's just a matter of money,"

He went on to say, "We just need to know as Texas, we step up our ante to provide for the additional cost -- to provide for the generators or whatever we deem appropriate -- so we can still subsidize the rent so these people can still live there independently."