The Storm Hurricane Maria made landfall as a Category 4 storm in Puerto Rico, causing an estimated $94 billion in damages; some studies attribute nearly 3,000 deaths to the hurricane and its aftermath. Many survivors lived for months without power or safe water and little or no access to health services. Hurricane Maria also devastated Dominica and caused considerable damage in other Caribbean islands, including the U.S. Virgin Islands. Today, Americares work continues in Dominica and Puerto Rico, restoring health services, addressing chronic disease, training health workers in preparedness and mental health and psychosocial services and working to meet needs in health facilities and communities struggling to re-establish basic services.
Puerto Rico Aid Americares Hurricane Maria recovery program in Puerto Rico is building the capacity of health workers and strengthening health facilities to meet the changing needs of patients and communities. Our work focuses on disaster preparedness, mental health and psychosocial services and decentralization of health services to reach the most excluded. Prepared for future disasters: With the support of the American Red Cross, Americares has trained more than 1,200 health workers and staff across Puerto Rico in disaster preparedness. Health care providers from public health facilities, Federally Qualified Health Centers, social service agencies and more have taken part. Americares trainings provide a practical approach to preparedness. We work with participants to build capability in resilience and resource management—and to develop communication and coordination skills to maintain health services and save lives during and after disasters.
Dominica Aid Rebuilding health centers: Two years after Hurricane Maria, Americares has rebuilt 11 primary health facilities serving a population of 65,000 people—and provided key building upgrades to Dominica’s Central Medical Stores. Now, we’re exploring ways to support Central Medical Stores even further—including installing solar panels; energy-efficient lighting, timers and switches; and temperature monitoring for medicine cold storage. Growing the supply chain: Americares is also helping the Ministry of Health organize and inventory donated medicine and medical supplies. Two years after the storm, Americares has installed warehousing equipment and redesigned Central Medical Stores’ floorplans to ensure medicine moves in and out swiftly and accurate records are kept. Americares plans to continue working alongside the Ministry of Health to strengthen the country’s medical supply chain.
In 2018 Other Partners Stepped Up and Out to Help As Puerto Rico recovers from a terrible disaster, the partners who have offered help brought so much to the recovery effort including their physical presence as was the case last year when members of the NY Giants organization visited our work and joined in the effort to restore health and hope.