But for those who require medical care, receiving that care is extremely important, especially as town water and sewer infrastructure is down.
But a team of local and visiting health care professionals are volunteering and working long hours to ensure Yancey County residents are treated for their medical needs.While the Burnsville Fire Department is serving as a hub for the relief efforts, with water, food and supplies available to families, a group of local and out-of-town health care professionals have established a field hospital at the fire department as well.
The group was started by Amanda Watts, a local RN, Dr. Charles Barron Bryant, and Dr. Alyssa Tilly.
“The idea came up on Saturday (Sept. 28), and we kind of put it into fruition on Sunday (Sept. 29), after the storm,” Watts said. “The EMS was already housed here, and as the community came together right after the storm, it just tumbleweeded into, ‘Maybe we should do an area for triage,’ and then from there it went, ‘Maybe we should just do a small field hospital.’
“So, it was a lot of brainstorming and trying to figure out how we were going to reach these people that we didn’t even know if could get to at that time.”
The team was also aided by volunteer efforts from Carol Tyner, a registered nurse, as well as Lauren Criscoe, a nurse practitioner.
Gov. Roy Cooper met with the team during a visit to the Burnsville Fire Department Oct. 8.
According to Tilly, as the word continues to get out, the health care team is seeing roughly 50 patients a day, compared to roughly 60 patients over the first three days in operation.
Bryant said the team has also provided prescriptions for roughly 30 patients too.
The team has relied on donations from local pharmacies, hospitals and health care systems to provide care.
“It’s come from all over. We had a company come in from Ohio to supply us with the ability to fill oxygen for individuals,” Bryant said. “So, it’s been widespread.”
Be the first to comment