Direct Relief Ready to Respond to Hurricane Dolly in Texas
July 22, 2008 (Santa Barbara, Calif.) With Hurricane Dolly gaining power in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas coast, Direct Relief International has contacted its long-standing network of safety-net clinics to offer its support in advance of any damage inflicted by the storm.
Damon Taugher, Direct Relief’s director of domestic initiatives, has contacted emergency preparedness staff at the Texas Association of Community Health Centers, who represent 300 healthcare delivery sites throughout the state that serve 650,000 patients annually. In addition, Direct Relief has sent out offers of assistance to 12 individual clinics and their sub-sites within a 300-mile radius of Dolly’s expected path. At this juncture, these organizations are most worried about severe flooding resulting from the storm rather than the power of the hurricane’s winds.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Dolly is currently a Category 1 hurricane, meaning its winds are between 74 and 95 miles per hour.
Should assistance be requested, Direct Relief will mobilize supplies from its warehouse in Santa Barbara, California, that are specially tailored for such emergencies. Direct Relief has worked closely with its donor companies to pre-position specific products that were requested during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Specifically, Direct Relief created hurricane response packs that contain most needed medical products for a 72-hour period of patient treatment for a wide range of trauma situations.
Direct Relief has extensive experience responding to emergencies in U.S. communities affected by hurricanes. In the Gulf States hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita – including Texas – Direct Relief supplied its partners with $47 million in ongoing medical material and targeted cash grant assistance.
Direct Relief staff also participated on the Texas Blue Ribbon Task Force on Emergency Preparedness and Response convened in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, helping to design the state’s plans for first response and prolonged support in emergency events, including the list of specific medical materials that would be needed for such a response.
About Direct Relief International
Founded in 1948, Direct Relief International is a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit organization focused on improving the quality of life by bringing critically needed medicines and supplies to local healthcare providers worldwide. Direct Relief is one of two charities ranked by Forbes that has received a perfect fundraising efficiency score for five consecutive years and is ranked by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as California’s largest international nonprofit organization based on private support. For more information, please visit http://www.DirectRelief.org.
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