Isaac Update: Relief Workers Deployed; New Medical Aid Underway

Even as Hurricane Isaac weakened on its slow track inland, families across the Gulf Coast are struggling while the storm saturates the region, causing severe flooding and widespread power outages that have left thousands displaced.On August 29, while the storm pounded New Orleans on the 7-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, AmeriCares first relief shipment arrived at the Salvation Army in Gulfport, MS. A new shipment of chronic care medicines is now underway. On August 30, our relief workers were deployed to Mississippi to mobilize more assistance for health care providers, aid organizations, and shelters serving people in crisis.The AmeriCares team will assess the storm’s impact on local health, while meeting with clinic partners in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. “People with diabetes and other chronic conditions may not have access to their medicines as a result of the storm,” said emergency response director, Garrett Ingoglia. “We have chronic care medicines, antibiotics, anti-infectives, bandages and other medical supplies. We have insulin and tetanus vaccines, and we are ready to supply whatever is necessary for these clinics and health centers.”

REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman ,www.trust.orgEmployees of Orleans Levee District remove signs from Lake Shore Dr. near the shore of Lake Pontchartrain as tropical storm Isaac approaches New OrleansMeanwhile, a new shipment of chronic care medicines and supplies is being prepared for shipment to our Community HealthWorx clinic partner in Alexandria, LA, to help displaced families with chronic diseases. The shipment includes diabetes screening kits, respiratory medication, and other medical supplies.AmeriCares has a long history responding to emergencies along the Gulf Coast, meeting the health needs of survivors after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Ike in 2008 and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. AmeriCares has provided medical relief and humanitarian assistance to millions affected by natural and man-made disasters for 30 years, including earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, Pakistan and Japan, and the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. So far this year in the U.S., AmeriCares has responded to tornadoes in Kentucky and Indiana, wildfires in Colorado, storms and power outages in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest and flooding in Minnesota.