Thousands of Texans sheltering at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston will have access to on-site medical care at a 250-bed Federal Medical Station established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
scheduled to be operational Wednesday.
According to Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, M.D., the Federal Medical Station will provide vital care to Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey. The Federal Medical Station at the convention center will be staffed by members of HHS’ National Disaster Medical System and U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
HHS has more than 500 personnel on the ground to assist those affected by Hurricane Harvey and 1,300 more on standby.
Beyond the team deploying to mean the Houston Convention Center, HHS has additional Federal Medical Stations available for patient care in Texas, and has positioned two 250-bed Federal Medical Stations in Baton Rouge ready to be deployed in Louisiana should state officials determine they are needed.
HHS also has activated its Disaster Distress Helpline, a toll-free call center, that is available at 1-800-985-5990 to aid people in coping with the behavioral health effects of the storm and help people in impacted areas connect with local behavioral health professionals.
HHS is opening the Federal Medical Stations are part of HHS disaster relief efforts initiated in connection with Secretary Price’s declaration of public health emergency in Texas on Saturday and in Louisiana yesterday in response to Hurricane Harvey. See
The HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) beneficiaries and their health care providers greater flexibility to provide Medicare-covered health care to meet emergency health needs under his authority in the Public Health Service Act and Social Security Act.
Many Medicare beneficiaries have been evacuated to neighboring communities where receiving hospitals and nursing homes may have no health care records, information on current health status or even verification of the person’s status as a Medicare beneficiary. Due to the emergency declaration and other actions taken by HHS, CMS is able to waive certain documentation requirements to help ensure facilities can deliver care.
These actions and flexibilities will become effective at 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time on August 28, 2017, but will have retroactive effect to August 25, 2017.
Additional public health and safety information for Hurricane Harvey can be found here.
slphrbenefitsupdate.com 