Austin Council to vote today on hospital safety measure sparked by KXAN report
The council will vote on Kelly's resolution "relating to safety barriers at medical facilities," according to the meeting agenda.
Project Summary:
This story is part of KXAN’s “Preventing Disaster” investigation, which initially published on May 15, 2024. The project follows a fatal car crash into an Austin hospital’s emergency room earlier that year. Our team took a broader look at safety concerns with that crash and hundreds of others across the nation – including whether medical sites had security barriers – known as bollards – at their entrances. Experts say those could stop crashes from happening.
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Council members are set to vote Thursday on a measure backed by the city's EMS union that would require new hospitals beef up security, and encourage existing ones to do the same, in direct response to a KXAN investigation.
“The team at KXAN did such a good job of explaining the problem and providing potential solutions that it would have been stupid for me not to have looked into this as a solution for the city of Austin,” said Councilwoman Mackenzie Kelly, who directed her staff to look into a code change in the middle of watching a KXAN investigation into the Feb. 13 fatal crash at St. David's North Austin Medical Center.
In what is expected to be an emotional moment, the Bernard family -- who were badly hurt in the incident and shared their story exclusively with KXAN -- are scheduled to testify in favor of the resolution, their attorney confirmed.
“Nadia cried when she heard that news that lawmakers are taking this seriously,” Levi Bernard told KXAN after learning the council was looking into a measure to prevent future tragedies. “[A]mazing how quickly your story is getting attention.”
It was the reason the family decided to speak out in the first place.
“One of the main reasons we’re talking to (KXAN) now, and having this conversation, is because we’re hoping it will have an impact,” Levi said in May. “The fact that it happened to us is something that should just be used as an example of what shouldn’t happen in an ER.”
The council will vote on Kelly's resolution "relating to safety barriers at medical facilities," according to the meeting agenda and a news release Kelly sent out Wednesday, crediting KXAN's investigation. The resolution -- which also credits "a KXAN investigation" -- would require new hospitals to install crash-rated vertical safety barriers, called bollards. It would also direct the city manager to look into ways to incentivize existing hospitals to do the same, and potentially require it, whenever a hospital applies for a new permit.
That plan would need to be finalized by the end of October.
Five months ago, a drunk driver plowed into the ER lobby "at a high rate of speed," according to the police report and surveillance video viewed by KXAN. She died and injured at least five people, including Nadia and Levi Bernard and their two toddlers. The hospital installed a dozen vertical security posts, called bollards, after the crash. A million-dollar lawsuit filed by the victims accuses St. David's, one of the largest health systems in Texas, of "gross negligence" for not having bollards, arguing that could have prevented the deadly crash had they been in place beforehand.
"For my clients, the fact that this happened to them is completely unacceptable,” Austin trial attorney Sean Breen, who represents the Bernard family, previously told KXAN. “They’re still dealing with it. It was totally unnecessary. It was totally preventable. And, what they really, really want is for nobody else to have to go through what they’ve gone through.”
St. David's would not comment on the lawsuit.
Following the crash, KXAN traveled to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute to watch firsthand how effective crash-rated bollards can be at stopping the equivalent of a 5,000-pound vehicle, similar to a Dodge Ram pickup truck, traveling at 20 miles per hour.
In May, Councilwoman Vanessa Fuentes also expressed interest in a bollard requirement after watching KXAN's investigation. Fuentes sponsored Kelly's resolution, along with Council Members Ryan Alter and Jose "Chito" Vela.
Kelly's resolution has the support of the Austin EMS Association, which represents over 500 EMS employees in Austin and Travis County. The organization's president, Selena Xie, said she was "very happy to support" the measure.
"[I]t will prevent one kind of accident that could threaten the lives of other people that are already potentially sick," Xie said.
The Texas Nurses Association had no comment on the upcoming vote but previously told KXAN it "supports efforts to research risks to medical facility staff and patients."
"It is important to identify top risks and alleviate those risks," the TNA said.
Another hospital group, Baylor Scott & White, said the "health and safety of our patients, visitors and staff continues to be the highest priority" but would not give an opinion on the bollard requirement.
"We have a number of safety protocols at our facilities throughout Texas," a statement from Baylor Scott & White Health said. "We appreciate the conversation on safety measures as we continue our efforts to keep those visiting our facilities safe."
KXAN also reached out Ascension Seton, along with the Texas Hospital Association and Austin police for comment on the bollard requirement. We have not yet heard back but will update this report when we do.
“After we spoke, I moved forward by taking action to prevent accidents like these from occurring in the future,” Kelly said. “I wanted to make sure every resident in the city of Austin is safe when they are visiting a hospital or emergency room.”
Asked about potential policy changes, St. David’s HealthCare previously said it “will work with policymakers and officials to ensure compliance with any new laws if they are passed.”
The council is set to meet at 10 a.m.
"If we can save one life with this new city policy, it will be worth our time and effort as a council," Kelly said in the news release. " I would hate to see another preventable incident occur and wonder if we could have done something to prevent another tragedy."
Congressman wants federal review, credits KXAN
The vote in Austin comes amid growing calls for hospital safety on a local, state and federal level after KXAN found more than 340 crashes involving medical centers in the US in the past decade, according to media reports and data from TxDOT and the Storefront Safety Council.
The SSC has helped pass similar bollard ordinances around the country, from Alabama to California. At least three were sparked by deadly accidents:
- A 6-year-old was killed in a crash at a dentist’s office in Midfield, Alabama in 2017.
- A 73-year-old was killed in a crash at an ice cream shop in Artesia, California in 2014
- A 4-year-old was killed in a crash at a daycare center in Orange County, Florida in 2014.
A College Station city councilman and a state senator are actively looking into bollard requirements.
So is Congressman Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, who has asked for a federal review of all government facilities in the southwest U.S. to see whether safety bollards are needed.
Less than a week ago, Doggett again asked the General Services Administration to look into how many federal facilities are unprotected and vulnerable, specifically including Travis, Williamson and Hays counties, and the Austin area.
“In response to my inquiry, the General Services Administration, which is responsible for federally occupied buildings, has indicated informally, that a number of Central Texas facilities lack safety bollards," Doggett said. "Clearly, the lack of safety bollards or other preventative measures extends far beyond hospitals and medical facilities. As I continue encouraging greater safety for visitors and employees at federal facilities such as Social Security and Veterans Administration offices, I’m grateful for KXAN’s investigative reporting that has helped spur a necessary push for change and accountability.”
On July 8, a regional GSA spokesman said he was "working on" a statement in response. Despite multiple follow-up emails, we have yet to receive any response. We will update this report if we do.
In a second letter to the GSA sent July 12, Doggett said this issue came to his attention from "an in-depth KXAN investigation by Matt Grant" following the crash at St. David's.
"This troubling incident, and similar, have increased calls for installing safety bollards or posts to prevent vehicles from crashing into buildings," Doggett wrote. "With growing security concerns in recent years, I anticipate many federal buildings have such protections, but I seek your answers."