Seniors are stranded in the heat as the wild weather in Houston hits Independent senior housing facilities

Independent living facilities for older adults are not under the same strict supervision as assisted living or nursing homes. centers.

By Colleen DeGuzman

Jul 05, 2024 04:57 PM

Rosie Powell is 71 and hasn’t had AC at her house for the entire month.

“I’m sitting here in the living room now with my little portable fan that I bought from Walmart,” she said to me on a particular evening in the month of July. The thermostat was set at 87 degrees Fahrenheit.

Powell moved to Palisades within Inwood the elderly living facility at North Houston, a decade ago, after deciding living in an elderly community is less expensive and less trouble than running her residence. She also enjoys being with fellow residents.

She also said the compromise comes at a cost because the location she’s in has little oversight.

While Powell lives in an old complex, however there is a distinct distinction in the way that different kinds of senior care facilities managed, which means that there are some senior citizens are most at risk don’t have their treatment. “Nobody come over here and see about us,” Powell declared.

Facilities that offer medical services, such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities or facilities, should be ready. Texas Health and Human Services has laid out clear guidelines concerning how these kinds of facilities should be prepared for any emergency.

But, the HTML0 rules are not applicable to independent living communities like Palisades of Inwood.

Complexes that are classified as independent are typically not required to offer any senior services, even though they are advertised to people who are over 55. “It’s just like a regular apartment complex,” Houston City Council Member Amy Peck stated. Residents living in independent apartments might be taking medications, or being able to walk on their own.

Peck thinks that a lot of people aren’t as self-sufficient as those in facilities for people with special needs. during a stormy season coming up, there are plenty of dangers.

“A lot of times there are a bunch of senior citizens living in an apartment complex with no kind of accountability for what could happen in a disaster situation or any other kind of situation,” Peck declared.

Powell states that her AC went out on June 7, as was the majority of residents. She’s worried about them since certain of them suffer from more severe health problems. Their landlord gave them portable AC units, but they’re not enough to cool the temperature down in the three-digit summer heat in Houston.

“I’m sitting here in the living room now with my little portable fan that I have bought from Walmart,” Powell said. “I simply try to get myself ready and to make sure I have enough water or food there to care for my needs… It’s not as was said it would be. “

Latasha Washington who is the director of the Palisades Inwood building where Powell is a resident, refused to disclose any information.

Seniors, as well as those living independently generally suffer from chronic health conditions and rely for electricity supply to ensure life-saving equipment running and medicines in the proper temperature. This can make prolonged periods of power outages all the more hazardous for them.

State Senator Molly Cook holds a master’s degree in public health. Cook said that people who age are more at risk of the possibility of becoming dehydrated.

“Especially if it’s humid, that could be lethal to them,” Cook said.

May’s hurricanes especially derechos took Houstonians off guard, causing some to be without power or AC for a couple of days. This included senior homes. It was an exercise to see who’s prepared to weather the storms.

“What we saw out there was that folks were falling between the gaps,” Cook explained.

Clinics offering medical services are required by law to have facilities with generators as well as water and food for every patient for at least three days, and an in case of emergency.

Chuck Lalonde is a senior vice president of operations for Belmont Village Senior Living, which has two assisted-living and memory services that are located within Houston.

“It’s a pretty strict list that we follow, so we’re not reinventing the wheel every hurricane season,” Lalonde said.

But, such services can cost up to $7000 per month. That is an amount which only a handful of seniors can pay for. Independent living services are cheaper. In Houston Heights Tower which is an independent living facility situated near central Houston the cost for a one-bedroom residence is around $750 per month.

Linda Holder is the director of the executive office at the Housing Corporation, a non-profit organisation that has eight independent communities of housing located in Houston and Houston Heights Tower.

She said that although they offer care for the elderly and disabled but they’re focused on the word “independent independent living.

“We really can’t, we can’t take care of people’s medical needs,” Holder said. “There’s always emergency services, and we’re prominent with firefighters. “

She also added that they provide water and food and a space to cool off when the power goes out.

The power in Houston Heights Tower was out for four days. Houston Heights Tower was out for four days following the derecho which was recorded on the 16th day of May. Hope Aguirre, the building’s property manager, stated that she relocated residents in the higher floors to the lower levels.

“I bring them down and they can either be on the hallways or in the community room here because I don’t want no one on the top, just so they won’t get scared or anything,” Aguirre stated.

Peck which is an elected member of the city council, has said that she’s considering creating local guidelines to govern independent living groups.

“There needs to be some changes to our city ordinances and possibly the state law as well that says, you know that there has to at least be some kind of minimum standard of care at these apartment complexes,” she said.