10.02.2017

Puerto Rico Relief Efforts

Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory whose inhabitants are U.S. citizens, is suffering. The island’s health infrastructure before Hurricane Maria was described in a January 2017 Urban Institute report as “financially unstable.” The post-hurricane situation is even worse; with power outages and shortages of fuel to run generators, health centers may have no option but to close. The state says it is not aware that Puerto Rico has requested nurses or other medical professionals through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact – the mutual aid system covering all states and U.S. territories. While medical professional should not self-deploy to disaster areas, caregivers along with the general public can help:

Support the Red Cross effort in Puerto Rico here.
Support United for Puerto Rico here.
Other disaster relief organizations can be found through the website of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.