卫生保健, housing still a challenge after flooding devastated eastern 肯塔基州 community

哈扎德，肯塔基州——哈扎德博士. 弗朗西斯Feltner's grandson was asleep in his eastern 肯塔基州 home when his landlord banged on the door. 当他走到门口时，水已经淹到脚踝了. 30分钟后，水没过胸. 他朝更高的地方走去.

“洪水来的很快, 他们就怒气冲冲地进来,费尔特纳说, noting that areas of 肯塔基州's rural Appalachia region that had never flooded were suddenly underwater. "The rain came down, and it almost seemed like the rain came up at the same time."

2022年7月的洪水造成40多人死亡. Water rushed through the region's hollows, low-lying land carved by rivers and streams. Flash flooding destroyed entire communities, including infrastructure, homes and schools. 数百人被直升机和船只救出.

“一位先生走过来对我说, “我好几天没吃东西了,’”费尔特纳说, a Hazard resident who is director of the University of 肯塔基州 Center of Excellence in Rural Health. 该中心致力于解决该州农村地区的健康差距问题. "People were crying about their possessions but still feeling blessed that they were alive."

随着水的消退, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other disaster relief organizations descended on the region. 社区卫生工作者, 包括费尔特纳中心的一些人, 装满食物的背包, 饮用水和其他必需品. 运送是通过船、马和全地形车进行的.

20多个月后, the resilient community is still rallying to overcome the disaster – which exacerbated longtime health disparities in eastern 肯塔基州. 获得保健服务是该地区的一个主要问题, 低收入和缺乏住房等社会问题也是如此.

(VIDEO: In 肯塔基州's Appalachia region, disparities in care add to a reluctance to seek it)

住房挑战依然存在

Some Hazard residents were reluctant or unwilling to leave their homes, said Lt. 我是马修·怀特，我是Jessamine县紧急医疗服务中心的. 他也是县消防局的消防员.

怀特和他的团队是蓝草应急小组的成员. 他们运送物资，搜寻幸存者. The water in spots was as high as the tops of telephone poles when he arrived, White said.

"Their homes were not structurally sound anymore, but people were trying to stay in them,他说. “他们想保证自己的东西安全."

尽管面临种种挑战，社区还是齐心协力. 居民们用食物和金钱帮助邻居. 许多人为那些失去家园的人提供了临时住所.

超过2.81亿美元的联邦资金, 其中包括向洪水幸存者提供1.1亿美元的个人援助, 已被批准. Hundreds of thousands of tons of debris have been cleared from roadsides and waterways, 受损的桥梁正在修复或更换.

许多人得以重建家园, 但其他人搬到了临时避难所, including community housing provided by a partnership between the Commonwealth Sheltering Program and 肯塔基州's state parks. 联邦应急管理局的一项临时住房计划于1月份结束.

然而，其他人可能永远不会重建. 截至2023年12月, FEMA had approved more than $63 million to acquire 376 properties in flood zones.

"One of the sad things about that is that our population is leaving,费尔特纳说. "Our churches or community entities are still working together to try to help folks, 但仍有很多工作要做."

医疗保健系统的压力更大

洪涝地区的恢复需要数年线上电子游戏飞禽走兽. 玛丽亚·布拉曼是阿巴拉契亚地区医疗机构的首席医疗官.

好几个月, 食物, 清洁用品, diapers and other 捐赠d items filled the health system's headquarters in Lexington – about 90 miles northwest of Hazard. 其在当地的工作队提供了破伤风、白喉和肝炎疫苗.

"Because ARH uniquely is already present in the communities that were impacted, we had to quickly transition from just a health care delivery system to a disaster relief organization,布拉曼说.

布拉曼关注环境风险. 被水淹的房子里长霉菌, 她指出, 会导致肺炎并使其他健康状况恶化吗.

"There are a number of health care concerns that will rise simply because of the exposure, 然后是贫穷的生活条件,她说, 注意到有些人住在脏地板的房子里. "That just layers on top of people who are already suffering from other illnesses."

就在他的家被毁的第二天, Feltner's grandson Austyn started digging out mud-caked roads so EMS teams and supply deliveries could get through. 作为一名社区卫生工作者，他还提供食物和水.

“在这场灾难中帮助人们让我坚持了下来, 它真的帮助了肯塔基人团结在一起,他说. “通过奋斗，我们总是会变得更强大."

美国心脏协会 线上电子游戏飞禽走兽 sent reporters to five states to cover rural health challenges, 以及美国农村的人们如何努力克服这些困难.