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1 year ago
Maui Wildfire Response: One Year Later
One year ago, devastating wildfires ravaged the town of Lahaina, destroying hundreds of structures and tragically claiming at least one hundred lives.
The recovery process is ongoing, with many residents still residing in temporary housing and receiving medical care at health facilities operating in temporary or mobile settings.
Since the fires ignited on August 8, 2023, Direct Relief has provided more than $5 million in aid to support 33 local organizations involved in recovery efforts on the island. That includes $3 million in financial aid to organizations serving the Maui community and $2 million in requested medicines and medical supplies like vaccines, insulin, inhalers, emergency medical backpacks for first responders, and personal protective equipment for individuals returning to burn areas–totaling 26 tons.
Direct Relief’s main objective in any large-scale disaster response is to deliver emergency medical resources safely and securely – specifically requested and appropriate for the circumstances – where they are most needed, as rapidly and efficiently as possible.
Direct Relief began working with local organizations to determine needs and requests for aid. Direct Relief leaned into its existing relationships with organizations that have long worked in Hawaiʻi and have trusted relationships with the communities they serve.
Just hours after the fires began, midwives from Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaiʻi arrived in the burn zone via jet ski and began treating patients.
Direct Relief provided the group with field medic packs, containing first aid essentials, and also additional requested medicines for patient care.
As needs became clearer, Direct Relief began to channel aid via ongoing shipments to Maui, including specifically requested antibiotics, respiratory medications, vitamins for children and adults, personal protective equipment for people returning to their properties to begin clean-up, hygiene items for people displaced from their homes, and other needed medical products.
The information included in this report, by necessity, includes unaudited figures because the organization’s formal audit coincides with its fiscal year, which is from July 1 to June 30. Audited figures for this period will be included when that audit and report are completed. Numbers are as of Aug. 8, 2024.
As of Aug. 8, 2024, Direct Relief’s Maui Wildfire response efforts have resulted in financial support totaling $3,055,000 and more than 26 tons of medical aid, valued at $2.4 million wholesale, to support the work of health workers and local organizations in the aftermath of the wildfires.
Healthcare facilities and organizations that have received medicines and/or supplies include:
Direct Relief also coordinated the distribution of vaccines including protection against Covid-19, influenza, RSV, and pneumococcal infections with the state Department of Health’s immunization branch to these additional healthcare facilities:
Direct Relief was able to supply a large array of medical material support without the expenditure of donor funds due to the in-kind donations from healthcare manufacturers and distributors, many of which Direct Relief works with on an ongoing basis.
Healthcare company donors responded expansively to requests for their participation, including the following:
FedEx also provided funding for many of the emergency medical backpacks sent by Direct Relief.
Thanks to the outpouring of financial support from donors, Direct Relief continues providing cash assistance to help facilities and organizations effectively respond to the ongoing needs of people impacted by Maui wildfires.
To date, Direct Relief has identified, vetted, and committed emergency financial support totaling $3,055,000 for groups responding to community needs related to the wildfires.
Direct Relief received contributions from 13,520 donors totaling $5,507,260 from individuals, foundations, businesses, and organizations located in all 50 U.S. states and twenty-two countries.
Of the total amount of Maui wildfire-designated contributions —
Among the companies and campaigns that supported Direct Relief’s response are the following:
Of the total Maui wildfire response-designated cash contributions received to date, Direct Relief has expended or committed $4.479 million to improve the health and lives of people affected by the disaster.
This includes:
Consistent with Direct Relief’s Donation Policy, 100 percent of funds received for specific emergency events are devoted entirely to those events, and none of the funds donated for Maui wildfire response have been used for fundraising.
(As explained here, all Direct Relief’s fundraising expenses are paid by the Direct Relief Foundation, which uses earnings on previously received bequests to the organization for this purpose and other non-programmatic costs.)
As long-term recovery continues, Direct Relief remains able to provide support because of its existing strong relationships with local groups that were already receiving ongoing support from Direct Relief through medical material aid and/or grant funding, and new relationships formed following the fire.
Each of these groups has an unwavering commitment to their communities – before, during, and in the recovery phase of the wildfires – and Direct Relief will support their work as Maui continues to recover.
Support for mental and behavioral health needs have skyrocketed in Maui following the wildfires. Doctors on the island say everyone is working to provide solutions.
“It was our first natural disaster, so we were just trying to learn the protocol, what services were expected and if we could contribute to what was going on.”
Prenatal care was limited on Maui before the fires, but groups like Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawai’i are stepping up to fill the gap.
1 year ago
Hurricane Debby, California Wildfire Responses Remain at the Forefront
In the past week, Direct Relief delivered 484 shipments of requested medical aid to 45 U.S. states and territories and 21 countries worldwide. Included is support for communities impacted by Hurricane Debby in Florida and continued wildfire response in California.
These shipments contained 12 million defined daily doses of medication and supplies, including prenatal vitamins, diabetes therapies, rare disease treatments, oncology medications, field medic packs for first responders, and more.
After Debby’s landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on Monday, the storm was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm, and then had a second landfall early Thursday, bringing tornadoes, flooding, and power outages.
On Monday, the Florida Association of Community Health Centers reported at least 71 health centers experienced partial or full closure due to Hurricane Debby. In response to Debby, Virgina B. Andes Volunteer Community Clinic, a free clinic in Port Charlotte, Florida, reported opening their Hurricane Preparedness Pack to access chronic disease medications for impacted patients.
The packs are staged in hurricane-prone areas across the U.S. Gulf Coast in advance of Atlantic Hurricane season at the start of each year and contain medical essentials commonly requested after storms.
Direct Relief also recently supported Virginia B. Andes in 2022, after the clinic was hit by Hurricane Ian. This week, Direct Relief shipped requested chronic disease medications and personal care items to the clinic to support their work with patients.
Shipments also departed this week to the University of Florida Mobile Outreach Clinic, which has been providing care for agricultural workers and other community members impacted by the storm in the Gainesville area. The Way Free Medical Clinic in the Jacksonville area also received Direct Relief support, and the Neighborhood Medical Center in the Tallahassee area received diabetes management supplies, medical consumables, and other requested items this week.
As more health facilities come online, Direct Relief expects more requests for support and will continue to respond.
Wildfire response in Northern California is ongoing as the Park Fire, which is currently about one-third contained, continues to rage north of Sacramento.
Last weekend, Direct Relief staff traveled to the region to deliver requested medical aid, including to facilities in Butte County, where the 2018 Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed thousands of structures in the Paradise area. Direct Relief staff delivered aid last week to Butte County Public Health’s warehouse, partly funded by Direct Relief, which will eventually be used to consolidate medical supplies in a single location to increase efficiency.
Staff also met with Butte County Search and Rescue, an all-volunteer team that provided door-to-door evacuation notices, mapping support, and coordination efforts with the sheriff’s office during the Park Fire. They also housed 20 firefighters in their training center during the Park Fire response.
Their Rescue 3 vehicle was funded by Direct Relief and has been used as a model for other SAR teams across the state. Each of their response vehicles will now have an emergency medical backpack with medical essentials for triage care.
Medical supplies were also delivered to Shingletown Medical Center and Ampla Health’s health centers in Magalia, Gridley, and Los Molinos.
More wildfire response kits, which contain medical essentials commonly requested during fires, including respiratory and ophthalmic medications and N95 masks, are currently being built and will ship out next week for Butte County Public Health and community health centers in the area.
WORLDWIDE
Over the last week, Direct Relief shipped more than 10.9 million defined daily doses of medication to countries outside the U.S. that include the following:
UNITED STATES
Direct Relief delivered 449 shipments containing 1.1 million doses of medication during the past seven days to organizations, including the following:
YEAR TO DATE
Since January 1, 2024, Direct Relief has delivered 15,300 shipments to 2,068 partner organizations in 54 U.S. states and territories and 83 countries.
These shipments contained 281.9 million defined daily doses of medication valued at $911.7 million (wholesale) and totaled 3.5 million pounds.
