Houston Had No Problem: “Mission Control” for Patients Kept Hospital Running during Hurricane Harvey

​A real-time patient monitoring system served as a "secret weapon" for handling emergencies at the country's largest children's hospital during Hurricane Harvey, according to a January 9, 2018, article in Health Facilities Management. The hospital, which employs 14,000 people across three campuses and numerous smaller locations, was faced with "one crisis after another" when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in August 2017. The constant rain led to flooding in a number of buildings where it had never occurred before, forcing the relocation of patients. A partner hospital had a shortage of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses and had to transfer its NICU patients. Some of the surrounding streets were completely submerged, forcing ambulances to reroute. Renal dialysis patients had trouble getting to the hospital for outpatient services. Fortunately, the article said, the hospital had recently finished installing "Mission Control," a 3,500-square-foot node of computer monitors and digital displays.