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The Texas Medical Center seen from McGovern Lake in Hermann Park on Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, in Houston.<\/p>\n
Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle \/ Staff photographer<\/p>\n
Houston hospitals know how to prepare for the city\u2019s largest events, but the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> presents unique challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n Seven World Cup matches are scheduled\u00a0in Houston between June 14 and July 4, with national teams from at least nine countries set to play at\u00a0NRG Stadium. The influx of international visitors<\/a> over a three-week period sets the event apart from others the city has hosted in the past, said Dr. Luis Ostrosky, chief of infectious diseases for UTHealth Houston and chief epidemiology officer for Memorial Hermann Health System.<\/p>\n \u201cOur mantra is this is like having seven Super Bowls within a month,\u201d Ostrosky said. \u201cWe expect a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n READ MORE: Houston health officials are confident Ebola is ‘not a public health threat’ ahead of World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n Houston hospitals and public health agencies told the Houston Chronicle they have been preparing for the World Cup for the past year, with emergency management teams meeting at least once a month to discuss everything from staffing to monitoring for infectious diseases. The plans that hospitals already had in place for large events, natural disasters and emergencies were a framework for the preparations.<\/p>\n The ongoing Ebola outbreak<\/a> in the Democratic Republic of Congo presented a last-minute challenge because the nation\u2019s soccer team is setting up its base camp in Houston and faces Portugal at NRG Stadium on June 17. But health officials have said the risk of Ebola spreading in the U.S. remains low, and hospitals said they are confident in the protocols they have in place to monitor for infectious diseases.<\/p>\n Texas Children\u2019s Hospital, for example, has a special isolation unit at its West Campus hospital. Employees undergo regular training to treat patients with highly contagious infectious diseases, said Dr. Brent Kaziny, medical director of emergency management for the children’s hospital.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThat unit routinely does training to be ready for things,\u201d Kaziny said. \u201cIt\u2019s heightened their sense of readiness in case there\u2019s any concerns for Ebola.\u201d<\/p>\n An unprecedented planning challenge<\/p>\n Houston has hosted large events like the Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four, and thousands flock to the city each year for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. But the World Cup is expected to draw more than 500,000 visitors from across the globe.<\/p>\n Hospitals\u2019 emergency management teams have been meeting since last summer to prepare for the event. They\u2019ve also worked with partners like the Houston and Harris County public health departments, the Texas Department of State Health Services and the SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council to develop broader regional strategies.<\/p>\n READ MORE: What does the Ebola outbreak mean for Houston and the World Cup? We asked Peter Hotez. | Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cPreparedness isn\u2019t something you build up overnight or in six months. These are plans and systems we\u2019ve developed over many years, and it\u2019s just a continual refinement of those plans to ensure we\u2019re at the ready,\u201d Kaziny said.<\/p>\n Houston hospitals said they plan to operate as normal but could adjust staffing levels if patient volumes are significantly higher once the World Cup begins. Hospitals also have protocols to call in extra help in case of a mass casualty incident or a natural disaster, said Ashley Thurman, an emergency manager at Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital.<\/p>\n \u201c(The World Cup) is during our time of prepping for hurricane season, so our staff is already on standby and know they could be called in at a moment\u2019s notice,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a plan to call in staff very quickly if we need to.\u201d<\/p>\n A FIFA banner is shown along Downtown Houston\u2019s new permanent car-free Main Street Promenade ahead of the World Cup in Houston Friday, May 29, 2026.<\/p>\n Melissa Phillip\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n Monitoring for infectious diseases<\/p>\n Infectious disease surveillance is a critical part of public health planning for any large event. During the World Cup, hospitals need to watch for common respiratory illnesses like the flu and COVID-19 as well as diseases that are more prevalent in countries with national teams playing in Houston.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Texas DSHS officials sent hospitals a list of health conditions to monitor during the event. The list includes conditions that could present a significant health concern, like Ebola or measles, as well as conditions that are less likely to have a significant impact, such as malaria and mumps.<\/p>\n Hospital emergency departments use travel screenings to identify patients who have been outside the U.S. Those screenings help healthcare workers identify the possible cause of a patient\u2019s symptoms and find the best treatment, Ostrosky said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n