 |
 |
|
CDC and local and state health departments need help rebuilding public health infrastructure in the Gulf Coast region to protect the long-term health and safety of residents. Read more about how you can help or give now. |
The Waters Have Receded, but the Needs Have Not
As the Gulf Coast begins rebuilding after the devastating hurricanes that hit the region, protecting the health of residents, evacuees and those involved in reconstruction efforts is still a pressing problem. Emergency operations officials in Louisiana recently told the Foundation that their needs are changing, not diminishing.
After Hurricane Katrina hit, CDC director, Dr. Julie Gerberding asked the CDC Foundation to activate the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund, and the Foundation began seeking contributions. Kaiser Permanente and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provided large seed grants and many individuals and organizations gave generously.
Through these initial donations to the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund, the CDC Foundation has been able to meet many of the immediate needs of public health responders and hurricane evacuees. The Foundation quickly provided prescription medications; medical supplies; emergency dental, hearing and vision services for evacuees; mental health services; satellite phones, cell phones and laptop computers for responders on the frontlines; travel vouchers for volunteer health responders; and a patient information hotline to help connect evacuees with health and medical services.
However, additional support is needed to continue to protect the health of residents and volunteers and to fully restore public health services to the region.
Many evacuees are returning home to uninhabitable houses, filled with mud or overgrown with mold. Hospitals, doctors’ offices and health departments are not fully staffed or fully operational. Not only do residents need protection from increased health risks associated with flooding and devastation, but they need the ongoing health services they relied on before the disaster – prenatal and maternity services, immunizations and flu vaccines, trauma and emergency care, lab and pharmacy services and protection from contaminated food and water.
The CDC Foundation is working with CDC and state and local health departments to help rebuild public health infrastructure so that local public health experts can return to business as usual. In Mississippi, the Foundation is using the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund to purchase two specially designed modular medical clinics to help restore public health services in Hancock and Jackson Counties. Both counties’ health department buildings, along with most of their equipment and technology, were destroyed by the storm.
The CDC Foundation anticipates that it will receive requests for similar assistance as other communities begin to rebuild and assess their needs. In addition to facilities and equipment, health departments have indicated a need for training and technical assistance to rebuild their operations and plan for new health challenges in the region. Many will need help providing mental health services to both staff and residents. Some health officials say they will need additional resources for seasonal flu shot campaigns as winter approaches and residents remain in crowded living conditions. And, though accustomed to working with limited resources, health department administrators will need support in securing and budgeting available funds to meet the region’s immediate health needs and to begin to rebuild for the future.
The CDC Foundation is seeking additional gifts to the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund to help fill these requests. Your gift to the fund will help rebuild the systems that protect the long-term health and safety of many Americans who are starting over. By helping to restore this vital infrastructure, you can help public health experts continue to protect the communities they serve - detecting and containing diseases, preventing injuries, meeting mental health needs, and keeping communities safe.
In addition to meeting the needs in the Gulf Coast region, your gift will help CDC prepare for and respond to future public health emergencies. When possible, agencies awarded grants through the CDC Foundation’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund reimburse the Foundation if funding later becomes available through FEMA or another organization. The returned monies re-seed the Fund, so that resources will be immediately available for future public health emergencies.
Your help is needed. Through the CDC Foundation’s Emergency Preparedness & Response Fund, you can give CDC and its partners what they need most: flexibility and access to immediate resources.
In the event that donations to the CDC Foundation’s Emergency Preparedness & Response Fund exceed need for supplies and services related to Hurricane Katrina response efforts, donations to the fund will be applied toward preparedness and response efforts for future national public health emergencies, such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks.