Triangle healthcare workers provide aid, comfort in western NC: 'Hard to wrap your head around'
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Emergency nurse Megan McCormick is back in Raleigh after helping in western North Carolina for more than three days.
"It's just hard to wrap your head around what a natural disaster can do in such a short time to such a large amount of people," McCormick said of Hurricane Helene.
McCormick was working at the emergency department at UNC Health Blue Ridge, where they were slammed with patients.
"There was nowhere else to go," McCormick said. "Several came in without shoes, without I.D., just very challenging, people to help to get resources to. But they were very appreciative of everything. Every volunteer, every warm smile that they saw. They just were very grateful."
McCormick is just one of hundreds of healthcare workers who left the Triangle to help as soon as Helene left behind a trail of destruction in the western counties on Friday. Many of the workers are still there, according to local healthcare systems.
"People are in the middle of this disaster that's out there right now," Duke Health's Matthew Rougeux said. "We're also preparing here in the Triangle to make sure that we can receive those patients if the need arises where those facilities need to send some patients out."
Rougeux said one of the challenges was getting people to the resources when there was limited cell service. However, UNC Health, Duke Health and WakeMed all said that staffing was not a challenge they were facing in their response.
"We still have a long list of our teammates that continue to want to volunteer," McCormick said.
The North Carolina Nurses Association and the North Carolina Foundation for Nursing have also launched a campaign to financially assist nurses affected by Helene.
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"Some of our colleagues have likely lost as much as anyone else," NCNA President Trish Richardson said. "This part of the state was already experiencing provider shortages and limited access to care, so it is critical that those nurses feel valued and appreciated. We want to do everything we can to help them get back on their feet so they can continue to deliver quality, compassionate healthcare for their fellow North Carolinians."
However, concerns remain about Helene's potential effects in the long run, including in areas that have completely changed, with no access to power or communication.
"How can we help long-term?" McCormick said. "We just want to make sure that they have the access to water and electricity ... and a place without those is a hard place to be when it's cold in the mountains."
