Disaster relief: Hurricane Harvey

Our hearts go out to everyone affected by Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath. FEMA has issued a set of important guidelines for people wanting to help either by making donations or by personally volunteering in disaster areas. Read the release.

Here are some ways we can all help those in need and some resources for physicians providing care in those communities.

Donate money

American Red Cross: To donate, visit www.redcross.org, call 1 (800) RED-CROSS or text the word HARVEY to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

The Salvation Army: To donate, visit www.helpsalvationarmy.org or call 1 (800) 725-2769.

The AAFP Foundation is collecting funds to support family physicians who have undergone uninsured losses to their medical practices or who need help to get their practices up and running again in a time of crisis. Donate to the AAFP Foundation disaster assistance program.

TMA’s Disaster Relief Program has received almost $1 million in donations to help physicians whose practices sustained physical Harvey-related damage not covered by insurance or other sources of assistance. Donate to the TMA Disaster Relief Program.

Resources for physicians

The Texas Medical Association has a list of pharmacies that are open in and around the Houston area plus other disaster recovery resources at “How to Survive Hurricane Harvey.”

TMA also hosts a Disaster Preparedness Resource Center with information on special licensing for out-of-state physicians and how to access medical information for displaced Texans: https://www.texmed.org/Disaster/.

Register with the Texas Disaster Volunteer Registry at the Texas Department of State Health Services if you’d like to support state-organized medical response efforts.

DSHS also has a set of resources and information for people affected by flooding events like Harvey: http://www.dshs.texas.gov/.

The AAFP Foundation has posted a page of hurricane relief resources for members across the country: http://www.aafp.org/patient-care/emergency/disasters/hurricanerelief.html.

Surescripts and Allscripts have joined forces to ensure pharmacists in areas under federal disasters or emergency delectations due to Hurricane Harvey can access patient medication data for free. http://surescripts.com/news-center/press-releases/!content/surescripts-and-allscripts-join-forces-to-make-patient-medication-history-data-available-to-pharmacists-in-the-wake-of-hurricane-harvey

Our friends at Texas Health and Human Services have created a Hurricane Harvey frequently asked questions PDF tackling topics on CHIP, managed care, fee-for-service, and more. https://hhs.texas.gov/services/health/medicaid-chip/provider-information/hurricane-harvey-information-providers

Other donation opportunities

The good folks at Texas Monthly compiled a list of places to send donations including area food banks: http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/ways-can-help-people-hurricane-harvey/.

The Texas Tribune also has an excellent compilation of ways to both give and receive aid. Check it out.