Greetings from Puerto Rico! I arrived on the island more than two months ago – my first deployment as part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Health and Social Services (HSS) Recovery Support Function (RSF) team. The team consists of experts from different agencies within HHS working together for a common purpose: to restore and improve Puerto Rico’s health and social services. Being here is inspiring, and I am glad I have the opportunity to serve on this mission.
Working Together As One Team. I’ve been amazed at the breadth of the team’s expertise and experience. We have employees from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administration for Children and Families, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Department of Education, and ASPR. Working together, bringing perspectives from different disciplines—including public health, environmental health, behavioral health, health care services, HIV/AIDs, elder care, school-based health care, social services, and cultural competency—is a win-win situation for everyone. Where one person may not have the necessary background, someone else on the team jumps in to support. We deploy as a team, and we work as a team to ensure every place we go has face-to-face access to HHS personnel who can problem solve their issues.
Fulfilling One Mission. Our team conducts a needs assessment during site visits to health and educational facilities and tailored conversations with key stakeholders. So far the team has visited more than 75 health care facilities, social service facilities, schools, and other key locations in Bayamon, Caguas, Fajardo, San Juan, Arecibo, and Ponce. We speak with health care professionals, teachers, and administrators to hear their stories, learn about their concerns, understand their barriers to recovery, and identify current and emerging needs. For example, one health center needed a second generator and access to ambulance services to transport patients to the nearest hospital. One teacher mentioned that her elementary school was not operating on a full-day schedule because they lacked consistent electricity and water.
Our team discovered that while emergency management planning might have varied at the municipality, community, and individual/family levels, no plans accounted for the scope of two, back-to-back hurricanes cutting off communications and electricity for a sustained period. During the immediate days following Hurricane Maria, family members living in the continental United States could not communicate easily with their loved ones on the island due to the lack of electricity and telephone service. This lack of communication has been stressful for people here. Behavioral health has emerged as another concern: understandably, many residents have had a difficult time handling the stress, anxiety, and fear following Hurricane Maria.
The information our team is gathering will give us a 360-degree view of the health and social services landscape in Puerto Rico. Ultimately, this information helps us, the central government of Puerto Rico, and municipalities to target short-term and long-term actions to help the island rebuild and prepare better for the next disaster.
Working with a Community that Perseveres. One of the most striking things I observed was the hopeful resilience of health care providers, teachers, administrators, and people in the communities eager to work together and with HHS to rebuild Puerto Rico.
During one of my visits, I met a local pediatrician nicknamed “Singer,” not because he could sing, but because he could “sew” (like the sewing machine) as in suturing wounds. Immediately after the hurricane hit, some residents began removing debris and clearing the streets. As a result, many people suffered cuts, and most needed stitches. The pediatrician leveraged his skills to meet the needs of his community. Witnessing this kind of ingenuity and fortitude has inspired me to be flexible, to think on my feet, and to help others in whatever capacity I can.
In the people of Puerto Rico, I see one mission, one team, and a lot of perseverance and ingenuity, and that sentiment keeps me focused and motivates me to give my utmost each day to the recovery mission in Puerto Rico.
If you are interested in serving as a Disaster Recovery Volunteer, contact Josh Barnes, HSS RSF National Coordinator, at Joshua.Barnes@hhs.gov.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Health and Social Services Recovery Support Function, leads a coalition of 17 federal departments and agencies, each of whom manages programs, authorities, and capabilities that can support post-disaster health and social services recovery in Puerto Rico, or wherever the next major disaster happens. To learn more, visit ASPR Recovery.
HHS works with other federal and state partners to determine community needs and develop recovery strategies. These recovery strategies seek sustainable, actionable solutions to ensure public health safety, improve access to high-quality health care services, strengthen the health workforce, build healthy communities, and improve health equity by developing strategic partnerships and training and technical assistance resources.
