Evacuees Face Medical Needs

First posted on 09-08-2008

Little Rock --Power is being restored to parts of Louisiana, but Entergy crews from Arkansas have been forced to return home to help restore power here, and evacuees are being told that they are still facing a wait of seven to fourteen days before they can return home. That leaves Arkansas healthcare providers with the job of keeping the displaced population healthy.

“We are determined to give the people that are here the same level of care that we give to our own people,” said Dr. William Mason, Incident Commander for the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) Emergency Operations Center (EOC)in Little Rock. “We will give them our best.”

ADH is also concerned about the health and safety of the evacuees as they return. “It is critical that people who have critical care or chronic care needs make certain that they have the power to operate their treatment equipment when they return,” Mason said. “We are carefully evaluating the conditions for our patients that are here with us now to be sure they will be released into good hands with proper on-going care.”

Among the most common problems are prescription drugs, chronic disease treatment equipment like oxygen tanks, treatment of wounds or infections, and several cases of communicable illness.

The Health Department is currently working closely with the Department of Human Services to make sure that needed medical and human services are being provided.

“The Department’s Environmental Health Specialists have been conducting inspections of the county shelters statewide to ensure that food and water safety and shelter sanitation issues are being addressed. The Department’s nurses and epidemiologists are also carefully monitoring the evacuees, watching for signs of illness in the shelters in order to prevent an outbreak of disease,” Mason said.

There are 49 shelters operating in 24 counties that are housing over 2,800 in addition to the shelter at Ft. Chaffee which has over 2,300 evacuees. “With this many people living in such close quarters, the potential for a disease outbreak such as measles or chicken pox is something we worry about,” he said. “We have relocated one family from a shelter to a hotel because one of the family members has chicken pox. By relocating these individuals, we were able to prevent the spread of the disease throughout the shelter.”

“Our role in the protection of public health will continue as we move into the next phase, which is to help these folks get back to their homes as safely as possible,” Mason said. To aid in this effort the Department has prepared fact sheets for them that will keep them informed about water and food safety, and alert them to the dangers that they face in returning to areas that are heavily damaged,” Mason said.

“We are also concerned about the health and safety of the emergency workers so we have developed a fact sheet that addresses issues such as immunizations, medical screening, personal protective equipment and handling of displaced animals,” Mason said.

Callers to the toll-free hotline (1-800-651-3493) can get information on health and recovery from floods and hurricane damage. Information on relief efforts and recovery fact sheets are posted on the ADH website at http://www.healthyarkansas.com/hurricane_gustav.htm