The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was forced to close nine locations Monday due to severe flooding from Hurricane Harvey, according to an article on the Fierce Healthcare website.
Several Texas hospitals have had to evacuate patients and operate on backup systems.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price declares a public health emergency in Texas, which will allow the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services to waive certain documentation requirements so hospitals and nursing homes that don’t have access to patient records can care for evacuated patients, the article said.
HHS has helped evacuate 182 patients from three hospitals in Victoria; sent 53,000 pounds of medical equipment and supplies to Texas and Louisiana, activated the AABB blood disaster task force and has more than 500 personnel on the ground.
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