Care for the terminally ill cannot stop — even after the ravages of Hurricane Ike. Despite severe damage that left its Houston and Shenandoah offices without water and power, AseraCare Hospice is continuing to provide needed care and service to its patients.
Both offices are operating remotely with the assistance of the AseraCare Hospice office in Round Rock, just north of Austin. This office is the current triage site for all patients and employees.
More than half of the 30 AseraCare Hospice staff members are without water and power, or have been displaced from their homes. AseraCare Hospice and its staff are finding resourceful ways to continue providing care — despite their own personal difficulties and hardships.
The company is using a fuel tank staged south of Houston so that caregivers have access to gas so they can see their patients. Special arrangements were also made so that patients dependent on oxygen, to manage their terminal illness, were never interrupted.
“As a company, we’re wrapping support around our patients as well as our employees,” said Bob Donovan, President of AseraCare Hospice. “We are especially thankful for the EMS representatives in Montgomery and Harris counties who have been checking on our patients when we aren’t able to.”
The AseraCare Hospice staff continues to work with each other covering the patient load, even if it means driving much further to a patient’s home or working longer hours to cover the care. They’re even devoting their time to assist one another at home with the special needs that have arisen due to the lack of utilities.
Community support and volunteers are contributing in various ways to help the AseraCare Hospice staff and the patients affected by Hurricane Ike. H-E-B Grocery stores, Home Slice Pizza, Chick-Fil-A restaurants, and the team of EMS Capt. Paul Sims, all have provided food, drinks and other necessary help to Houston evacuees.
“Our entire organization is appreciative of the people in Houston and Austin for their outpouring of support during this tough time,” said Cindy Susienka, President and CEO of Golden Innovations, parent company of AseraCare. “We are so grateful for the community’s assistance in the distribution of medical supplies, food and water to our patients and our employees in need.”
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