As of October 8, Hurricane Isaias is a category 1 storm that is moving steadily towards the U.S. Gulf Coast. It is expected to make landfall along the western tip of the Florida Panhandle, Alabama coastline, and Mississippi coastline, either late Friday or early Saturday. Isaias will likely bring heavy rainfall and hurricane-force winds to the central U.S. Gulf Coast and much of the Southeast as it moves inland throughout the weekend.
On October 7, Governor Ivey declared a state of emergency for Alabama.
On October 6, Governor DeSantis declared a state of emergency for Florida.
Healthcare Ready is closely monitoring the storm and will plan to activate Rx Open starting Saturday and through the weekend.
Impacts on Healthcare
The Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama, and southern Mississippi have high rates of at-risk, Medicare beneficiaries that rely on health care services and electricity dependent durable medical equipment and devices. With Hurricane Isaias bringing hurricane-force wind, heavy rainfall, and potential flooding, these at-risk populations are extremely vulnerable to prolonged power outages depending on the severity of the impacts.
Furthermore, power-dependent patients, such as dialysis, home oxygen, ventilator users, and patients relying on refrigerated medications, are at the most risk.
As of October 6, the Florida state of emergency authorizes pharmacists to dispense up to a 30-day emergency prescription refill of medications to those residing in counties covered under the Executive Order (Baker, Bay, Calhoun, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Suwannee, Taylor, Walton, Wakulla, and Washington).
In Florida, there are mandatory evacuations in place for Okaloosa, Franklin, Walton, and Escambia County.
Shell and Chevron have suspended Gulf oil production and evacuated platforms ahead of Hurricane Isaias. Disruptions to fuel supply could have ripple effects on hospitals relying on backup generators and ambulance fleets for continuity of care during response efforts.
Strong wind, heavy rain, and potential flooding could all cause closures to roadways, ports, distribution centers, and healthcare facilities. This could interrupt medical deliveries and services during response and recovery efforts – especially for patients who need critical medications or health care services.
Port of Mobile is now under Port Condition YANKEE. Vessel traffic restrictions are now in effect, and vessels can only enter the port with Coast Guard permission.
If you become aware of situations that may adversely affect healthcare supply or patient care from this event, or if you would like to request assistance, please contact the Healthcare Ready Support Team at Alerts@HealthcareReady.org.
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