Hurricane Katrina: Three Years Later
August 2008
In the three years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked havoc in the Gulf States, Direct Relief has worked to help the affected areas recover—and to be prepared should disaster strike again.
More than $47 million in aid, including $4.6 million in targeted cash grants, has been provided to Gulf States healthcare facilities and organizations to help them repair infrastructure, hire staff, and treat more patients. Read about initiatives with national organizations, and in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
We have developed strong ties with statewide health organizations including the Texas Association of Community Health Centers, the Lone Star Association of Charitable Clinics, the Louisiana Primary Care Association, the Louisiana Free Clinic Association, and the Mississippi Primary Health Care Association, and continue to support them with medical supplies. Read a CNN story about one of Direct Relief's partners in New Orleans, the Common Ground Health Clinic, and about the recovery of the health system.
We are licensed as a nonprofit pharmacy in 46 states to help support medically underserved people all over the country. Direct Relief staff was appointed to the Texas Health Commissioner’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on emergency response to help prepare for future emergencies, and developed a recommended medication list for the first 72 hours of a disaster to reduce the strain on hospitals.
Our work in the Gulf continues today. In March 2007, Direct Relief provided $75,000 to fund the employment of a nurse midwife to oversee maternal and child health services at two key health centers in the New Orleans area. In August 2007 in Dallas, Direct Relief was presented a first-ever special award from the National Association of Community Health Centers for our long-term response in the aftermath of the hurricanes.
In spring 2008, the cosmetics company Bare Escentuals created the iridescent denim blue Rebirth Eyecolor to help Katrina victims. For every purchase of Rebirth Eyecolor—designed as a symbol of New Orleans' revival and inspired by how a storm reveals a beautiful rainbow—100% of the net proceeds were donated to Direct Relief and an additional amount equal to 50% was donated by Bare Escentuals CEO Leslie Blodgett.
Since the hurricanes, Direct Relief has absorbed all administrative costs and overhead expenses to ensure that designated contributions directly serve the people who need them.
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