After Helene, Health Workers Are a Lifeline for the Displaced

If you’re a volunteer nurse providing healthcare to people who have lost their homes after a disaster, your work is difficult enough already. But if electricity is unreliable and the local water system is no longer functional—the tap water is undrinkable, toilets can’t flush and showers are off the table—then you probably start to feel like your job is equivalent to 13 jobs.

In Buncombe County, where many people are still displaced after Hurricane Helene flooded the region’s main city, Asheville, and surrounding towns, volunteer nurses and other healthcare workers were ready to take on this multilayered challenge. Yet the storm’s high winds and record-setting downpour raised water levels to the highest on record in western North Carolina, creating unforeseen challenges that made it almost impossible to provide services. That’s why International Medical Corps sent staff and volunteers to provide lifesaving medical care, mental health care and services in water, sanitation and hygiene to address urgent community needs.

Shiv Kumarie brings an Asheville resident sheltering at The Ferguson Center to the outdoor bathrooms. Until water was restored to the center on October 17, these outdoor bathroom facilities were the only toilets available for clients.

Curtis Barnes, a Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Consultant with International Medical Corps, who is responsible for coordinating the behavioral health aspect of our response, discusses patient treatment with Dr. Erika Czerwinski at the shelter at A-B Tech.

Shiv Kumarie hugs a patient after she was discharged from one of the Asheville shelters for people displaced by Helene. Shiv says, “This woman’s caregiver was generous and took her in. The roads to her house are still unpassable and it will be months before she can return to her own home.”

Clinical volunteer Jannina Rivera entertains a displaced child who was staying at the shelter at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. Jannina says, “The team behind this response has been so incredible. Every day, I worked with doctors, mental health professionals, social workers and others to provide health and emotional support to people who had lost their homes and possessions. There are many types of hurricane victim, each with their own challenges, and they all deserve to receive the care they need.”

Assim and Adrian deliver a 1,000-gallon water tank to the Mountain Community Health Center Partnership, an FQHC in Celo, North Carolina.

Assim works with a local driver to plan an alternate route to deliver a water tank to a federally qualified health facility (FQHC) in Buncombe County.

In North Carolina, we have delivered behavioural health services to 120 people and medical services to 1,110 people at three shelters and one mobile medical unit, as well as supplies to 20 health centres serving more than 420,000 people across the region.

Clinical volunteer Erika Czerwinski conducts a mental health consultation at the shelter at A-B Tech. “The amount of effort that I’ve seen all the teams put into this response just to help one person is extraordinary,” Dr. Erika says. “If we didn’t have the structure that International Medical Corps provides, there would be a lot of chaos. There would be a lot more people living on the street. There would be a lot more illness. Living in Asheville and being a resident who loves these mountains and our community—it’s phenomenal, seeing how many people want to give their time to care and show up for each other.”

Clinical volunteer Natalie Moore conducts a medical consultation in the International Medical Corps MMU in Buncombe County Sports Park. Dr. Natalie says, “It’s been amazing to see the genuine connections between our volunteers and the people of Asheville. Our volunteers are working 12-hour shifts and are willing to go out of their way to do anything they can for their patients. I’ve seen the love they have for this work and it is truly inspirational.”

Nurse Rivera provides healthcare to a client at A-B Tech.

Clinical volunteer William Scott Bennett plays chess with a resident of the shelter at WNC Agricultural Center. Dr. William says, “When the opportunity came, helping my fellow North Carolinians was an easy choice. Helene has turned their lives upside down, and coping with a natural disaster doesn’t come with instructions. When people come to a shelter, it adds even more stress. Many were already living on the streets before the storm. So these difficulties tend to magnify under these conditions. Our job is to help stabilize, maybe refer people to other services, while offering guidance and solutions to help people cope with enormous personal challenges.”

Staff members Assim Salih and Adrian Rivera deliver medical supplies to the shelter at The Ferguson Center. Assim, who has been working in emergency and disaster settings for more than 20 years, describes the devastation in Asheville as the worst he has seen since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. “It is shocking to witness this level of hardship in the US,” says Assim. “Though the challenges are still enormous, I am inspired to see these centers provide free medical care, food, hygiene facilities, heat and access to electricity. The people of Asheville and the surrounding communities are resilient, and together, with our support, we will make it through this crisis. But it is crucial that we recognize the magnitude of this disaster and remain steadfast in our efforts to provide both immediate relief and long-term solutions.”

Clinical volunteer Lisa Fraumeni-Pickel conducts a medical consultation at the mobile medical unit in Buncombe County Sports Park. Lisa says, “Helping people out during crisis is why I became a nurse. I speak to everyone who comes to the park, just to see what their emotional needs are. The people of Asheville have really touched our hearts and souls. I hope we had the same effect on them.”