CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth Hospital working out of makeshift emergency room after flooding from Imelda

BEAUMONT, Texas — As the floodwaters from Tropical Storm Imelda rose in Beaumont, CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth Hospital was one of the first buildings impacted. 

"When the rain started hitting very hard ... we noticed that the floodwaters were rapidly approaching the back doors of the ER," CHRISTUS emergency department medical director Dr. George Davis said. 

It wasn't long before the floodwaters slowly crept inside the ER. 

"The staff on duty had to evacuate the patients up to another floor to clear out the emergency department because we weren't sure how much water would come in," Dr. Davis said. 

Several inches of water ended up inside the emergency room as Imelda dumped a record amount of rain on Southeast Texas. 

The hospital is now working out of a makeshift emergency room in the lobby of the hospital. 

"It's been very seamless," said Dr. Davis. "We had a few hiccups the first day ... but everybody came together to find a solution so we could serve the community."

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The hospital's new makeshift ER is not only dealing with day-to-day trauma, but also emergency visits related to the storm. The hospital says they've seen a number of patients with lacerations and abscesses from injuries while working on repairs to their flooded homes. 

The hospital says up to 20% of their patients coming into the ER have flood-related injuries. 

Lindsay Fowler, lead physician assistant at CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth, says if you get a cut or scrape and were in the flood water, the best thing you can do is make sure you have a current tetanus shot. 

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"If you don't take proper precautions, then you most certainly can get a staph infection, you can get an abscess there," Fowler said. "You can form a  pretty nasty infection if you don't get proper antibiotics and proper things to take care of it."

Fowler recommends wearing safety goggles and gloves as the reconstruction continues. 

CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth tells 12News that they are also helping patients with chronic medical conditions who are now struggling after losing medications in the floodwaters.