Hurricane Maria’s Death Toll: Storm Left A Slow-Moving Medical Catastrophe In Its Wake
Hurricane Maria's effects lasted long after the rains and winds disappeared. From sepsis to lack of medical oxygen to dialysis appointments cut short, patients had to navigate a medical system ravaged by the storm.
The Associated Press:
Maria's Death Toll Climbed Long After Rain Stopped
Disabled and elderly people were discharged from overwhelmed hospitals with bedsores that led to fatal infections. Medical oxygen ran out. People caught lung infections in sweltering private nursing homes and state facilities. Kidney patients got abbreviated treatments from dialysis centers that lacked generator fuel and fresh water, despite pleas for federal and local officials to treat them as a higher priority, according to patient advocates. (Weissenstein, Campoy and Sosa, 9/20)
Miami Herald:
Puerto Rico Kidney Patients Travel Hours For Healthcare
After the small hospital on Vieques was flooded by Maria and then overcome by toxic mold, authorities were forced to shut it down and set up a new clinic in what had been a hurricane shelter. While the new center has shiny new medical equipment, it doesn’t provide many basic services — including a delivery ward, X-rays and dialysis. (Wyss, 9/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
A Year After Maria, Puerto Rico Is Pushed To Precipice
A year after Hurricane Maria tore through this mountain town, some shops have reopened, residents chat under gazebos in the serene central square and a nearby bridge wrecked by floodwaters stands sturdy. But the town of 21,000 people is dotted with boarded-up businesses, including El Navideño, a local institution strung year-round with Christmas lights. Some abandoned homes lie in ruin. Others are covered in blue tarps serving as temporary roofs. The surrounding lush landscape is interspersed with idle farmland. (Campo-Flores and Scurria, 9/20)
