With Maui Devastated by Fires, UC Operators Are Both Providing and in Desperate Need of Care

The wildfires raging through Maui are just the latest example of how environmental disasters place healthcare facilities in the position of having to provide care for the sick and injured in the community while also ensuring the needs of team members are met, not to mention guarding against threats to the facility itself. A recent report from NBC News told part of that story through the experience of Reza Danesh, MD, who runs an urgent care center and mobile clinic in the area. Danesh has spent days driving around with antibiotics, food, and water in order to render aid on the spot to those displaced by the disaster. Burns, eye infections, and exacerbation of chronic lung conditions are the most common complaints he’s been dealing with. Operators at other UCCs either know or suspect that their facilities have been destroyed or heavily damaged by the flames. Bear in mind that each of those facilities is staffed by individuals who are facing unknown consequences in their personal lives. Would you and your team know where to go, what to do, and how to stay in touch when extraordinary events occur? If there’s any doubt, Disaster Strikes—What’s the Plan for Your Urgent Care Center? in the JUCM archive is essential reading.