Hurricane Helene Revealed the Importance of Our Frontline Healthcare Providers
By Laurie Moody
February 4, 2025
Amidst the destruction of Hurricane Helene—one of the worst storms in history and the deadliest flood event in North Carolina—our state’s hospitals, healthcare systems, and the courageous men and women who staff them worked heroically to deliver care to our communities.
Physicians, nurses, and healthcare workers braved severe weather conditions and washed-out roads to get to their local emergency departments — where, at many, daily patient numbers more than doubled. While doctors kept life-saving equipment running and nurses triaged waves of incoming patients, administrators scrambled to secure power and water supplies. First responders and normal citizens alike rushed in from across the country to help search for survivors and care for the sick and injured. Many worked for days without rest.
All our frontline healthcare providers and first responders deserve our gratitude, but especially here in Western North Carolina, we have a renewed sense of appreciation for the sacrifices it took to keep our hospitals functioning. Mission Health in Asheville, the largest hospital in the areas of WNC impacted by the storm, was not able to reconnect to city water for more than two months after the storm. To maintain the ability to function, the hospital dug two wells and brought in millions of gallons of water by tanker trucks.
The countless acts of compassion and heroism, great and small, in the face of such devastation show the strength of our communities. And they are characteristic of the care that our hospitals and healthcare workers provide every single day.
Our hospitals are cornerstones of healthy and safe communities. They are the only facilities that provide medical services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. In a crisis when every minute matters, an individual or family can receive immediate, high-quality care at their nearest emergency department. It doesn’t matter their age, race, gender, or even whether they are insured. No patient is turned away.
The importance of this kind of around-the-clock care — come hell or high water — was on full display during Hurricane Helene. Our hospitals’ and healthcare workers’ commitment to treating those in need saved lives. But this in fact happens every single day, not just during major crises. Whenever an individual or family member gets sick or is injured, their first call is often to their local emergency department. In fact, three of North Carolina Emergency Departments rank among the busiest in the country. Overall, more than 60% of ED visits occur on nights and weekends, when other places to receive care are typically closed.
North Carolina’s hospitals are also a safety net that helps ensure our most vulnerable residents can get the care they need. Hospital patients are more likely to be older and uninsured, on average, and they tend to arrive in poorer health and require longer stays and more complex care. That is exactly what our hospitals are equipped to provide. They have the tools and resources to treat even the most serious health issues and to move patients into a continuum of care. More than 80% of patients say they value having their care coordinated in one place, rather than having to patch together care between providers.
Of course, hospitals play an even more outsized role in rural communities. In remote areas, a hospital is often the only healthcare provider, both in an emergency and for routine care. North Carolina has the second largest rural population in the country; nearly 3.5 million residents live in rural areas. Yet, at least 20 rural counties do not have a single hospital, and 35 counties have no ICU beds.
As a licensed clinical mental health counselor and former Regional Director for U.S. Congressman Patrick McHenry, I know how important healthcare access is to everyday North Carolina families. We all depend on our hospitals.
Many are familiar with the hippocratic oath that doctors take—first, do no harm. This should be equally applicable to policymaking. Yet, sadly, some legislation currently being discussed in Washington flunks that test.
Pushed by special interests, Congress is now considering bills that would slash Medicare reimbursements for patient care. These misguided policies would saddle our hospitals—many of which are struggling to break even—with billions of dollars of payment cuts, while ignoring the real factors that are driving up healthcare costs: historic inflation, physician burnout, and parts of the healthcare industry that are more concerned about their profits than their patients or the local hospitals they count on.
Tragic natural disasters like Hurricane Helene and the wildfires now ravaging Southern California remind us how important our frontline healthcare providers are. But it’s not only in times of crisis that we need our hospitals; it’s every day. North Carolina’s Congressional delegation has earned a reputation for cutting through lobbyists’ noise and getting to the root of what matters most to their constituents. I encourage them to continue to ensure our hospitals and healthcare workers are well supported to meet our state’s needs—in good times and bad.
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