David Washington, MD, shares his stormy start to new position in Houston

摘要

My hospital’s ER, Bay Area Regional Medical Center, did stay open through the storm. I worked several 12–14 hours shifts in the ER. I saw adults and children in an attempt to help take the pressure of the overworked and understaffed ER doctor (there was only one that could get in for several days).I also set up and ran a “Fast Track” of sorts, taking care of patients triaged as levels 3, 4, and 5. It was very difficult to prescribe medications as there were limited medications in the hospital pharmacy that could be dispensed, and there were not many pharmacies open for several days. Even if pharmacies were open, they did not have a fully-stocked formulary, so we had to make due with what was available.One of the hardest hit patient groups were those with end-stage renal disease on dialysis. Many came in having missed their dialysis for anywhere from 3–5 days. They were feeling nauseous, weak, and were quite frightened. Many had to sleep overnight in the hospital ER or in the waiting room, until they were at least able to set up a makeshift dialysis center in the ICU. This was for 1–2 days until other dialysis centers opened and patients could be redirected.