Gulf Coast Clinics Ready for Season’s First Hurricane

Direct Relief positioned hurricane modules at 30 clinics, equipping them for emergencies

July 1, 2010 

Hurricane Alex crashed into Mexico's Gulf coast as a powerful Category 2 storm Wednesday, making landfall about 110 miles south of Brownsville, Texas. According to news reports, hurricane warnings have been dropped for the South Texas coast and downgraded to tropical storm warnings from the Rio Grande River north to Port O' Connor. Alex will continue to pound on shore along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana through Texas, bringing heavy rains and potential flooding.

In June month, Direct Relief International pre-positioned hurricane preparedness packs at 30 clinics across health facilities from Texas to Florida. Each module contains 150 essential medicines and supplies that will treat 100 patients for up to three days. The items treat health needs ranging from wound care to chronic conditions, ensuring that clinics in hurricane-vulnerable areas have the most needed items in stock should they have to treat evacuees.

Direct Relief has been pre-positioning hurricane supplies along the Gulf Coast for the past four years to prepare clinics that treat low-income, uninsured patients for hurricane season. Three years ago Direct Relief expanded the program to include Central America and the Caribbean; Direct Relief staff members are currently on the ground in Haiti assessing the vulnerability of the large number of people displaced by the January earthquake.

Hurricane Alex kicks off what is predicted to be very active season, and with Direct Relief's help, clinics and hospitals along the Gulf Coast, Central America, and the Caribbean are prepared to respond should a major storm make land fall.

Direct Relief Monitoring Hurricane Alex, Offering Support to Partners If Need Arises

June 30, 2010 

As the U.S. Gulf Coast and Mexico brace for Hurricane Alex, Direct Relief USA program staff is in contact with partner clinics near the hurricane’s projected path to offer medical assistance if needed. The team is also coordinating with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and the Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC) to offer support through their associations.

“We think we are okay—lots of rain, but we still have power,” reported Emily Alpert, Operations Director at Brownsville Community Health Center in Brownsville, Texas, today. “Thank you for your care and concern.”

Direct Relief has a long history of responding to hurricanes and readying clinics in anticipation of the influx of patients that often occurs during emergency situations. For the third year running, Hurricane Preparedness Packs were pre-positioned at clinics and health centers in Gulf Coast states to help them prepare for the hurricane season. The packs—30 in all, placed across five Gulf States—are designed to treat 100 people for three days, equipping clinics with the medical resources they need on hand if a hurricane hits.

Since hurricanes don’t recognize international boundaries, Direct Relief’s Hurricane Preparedness Program reaches Caribbean sites as well, including Haiti. A Direct Relief team is currently traveling in Haiti, visiting partners supporting the recovery from the devastating January earthquake and delivering eight Hurricane Preparedness Modules, larger provisions of aid designed to treat 1,000 people for a month in an emergency situation.

Alex is the first named hurricane of 2010. Hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, is expected to be very active this year.