The below resources are all the NCAFP, state, and federal resources in place to provide relief for family physicians and patients impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Helene. We are working with the state, the NC Medical Board, NC Medical Society, and other organizations to assess which practices are open to any degree and what their immediate practice needs are, beyond the need to get water systems back online.

To support NCAFP resident and student members impacted by Hurrican Helene, you can make donations directly to the NCAFP Foundation Disaster Fund here.

Last updated Nov. 18, 2024.

How to Volunteer

Many health care professionals want to assist in western North Carolina as volunteers . There are several ways to help:

• First, if you are employed by a hospital, you can work through your system for hospital-to-hospital credentialling to provide force multiplication or relief for frontline teams.
• The state is asking that you not self-deploy. However, you can indicate your willingness to help in a couple of different ways. Licensed clinicians can indicate your willingness to volunteer through the Office of Emergency Management here. You can also volunteer more generally through VolunteerNC Disaster Volunteer Opportunities here. This will help connect volunteers with various opportunities. You can indicate what county you wish to volunteer in and the type of services you are willing to provide, health care or otherwise.
• Third, the NC Medical Society has a dedicated staff person helping connect physicians to volunteer opportunities. You can reach Rokita Pitts at rpitts@ncmedsoc.org.
• Finally, if you have an out-of-state colleague seeking to volunteer, the NC Medical Board has activated the Limited Emergency License to help facilitate medical professionals volunteering who do not have a permanent license in North Carolina. For more information, they should visit www.ncmedboard.org/disaster.

Resources for Providing Medical Care in Affected Communities

• The NC Board of Pharmacy activated Board Rule .1815, which authorizes pharmacists to provide one-time emergency refill of up to a 90-day supply when the pharmacist is unable to obtain refill authorization from the prescriber due to a prescriber’s inability to provide medical services to the patient. This authority was specifically created for emergencies like this one. In addition, if you are trying to send your patient to a pharmacy to pick up needed medication and supplies, the Board of Pharmacy is developing a list of open pharmacies in the impacted area. You can find that list here.
• NC Medicaid has updated its Medicaid Temporary Flexibilities Due to Hurricane Helene. You can find that information here. This includes information about the expanded ability for hospital swing bands, disaster relief applications available for health care providers, and more fexlibilities that will be available through Dec. 31, 2024. In addition, please note that many payers across the state have implemented additional flexibilities for practices in the impacted area, including in some instances waiving prior authorizations and allowing early refills, among other things. (You can review the Oct. 17 Medicaid presentation about these flexibilities here.)
• NCDHHS has published a guide for preventing communicable diseases in the wake of the storm, which you can review here.
• NC Medicaid has also updated its flexibilities for dental care, behavioral health services, medical equipment, family planning, home care, obstetrical care, and other services. You can review the overview and find those new resources here.
• If you have lost vaccine stock due to power outages in your practice, for the Vaccines for Children program, you should reach out directly to the VFC Storage and Handling Hotline at 877-873-6247. They can assist with determining viability, wasting doses, and next steps on placing replacement orders.
• NCDHHS has extended its compliance and reporting deadlines for all NC Immunization Program Providers until Oct. 31, 2024. This measure aims to provide families additional time to meet immunization and school health assessment requirements. You can review the memo which extended the deadline here.
• WellCare began initiating provider stabilization payments to those health care professionals impacted by Helene on Oct. 18. "Across all impacted counties, we are monitoring provider claim submission activity and comparing that to historical trends. Where a gap exists, we are automatically making payments to providers to fill that gap with no formal request necessary," the company said in a statement.
• UnitedHealthcare Community Health Plan has a form for impacted practices to complete when seeking stabilization payments due to lost revenue from Hurricane Helene. You can access that here: UnitedHealthcare Stabilization Payments Form
• Healthy Blue NC has created a form for impacted practices to complete when seeking stabilization payments due to lost revenue from Hurricane Helene. You can access that here: HealthyBlueNC-Provider Hardship-Stabilization Assistance Request Form.pdf
• For infection control and hygine: Hand sanitizer is acceptable and the preferred method of hand hygiene for most healthcare situations. A handwashing station would be preferred for when staff/patients need to wash their hands when visibly soiled. Contact infectionprevention@dhhs.nc.gov to learn more (and review how to build a portable handwashing station here).
• For the best ways to prevent infections during these disaster conditions, review this guide from the NCDHHS. This separate guidance recommends the best steps to prevent infections if you're providing care with interrupted water service.
• Updated information on accessing the Health Information Exchange (HIE) for information on patients seeking care, including guidance for providers without internet access is available at Flexibilities for HIE Access.
• Opioid treament is available at emergency departments. You can review a real-time map with their locations, contact information, and hours of operation here.
• The NC Dept. of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Division has suspended programmed compliance activities in the declared disaster counties and recommended potable water, reasonable restroom access, and reasonable hand-washing access for workplaces in those counties. You can review the OSH statement here.
• To learn more about the supply chain disruptions to IV solutions, irrigation fluids, and peritoneal solutions from the Baxter facility in Marion, NC, click here. You can learn more about conserving and managing these products here; the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services is currently working to bring Baxter back to full capacity and giving technical support through ASPR.
• People and families in North Carolina who are enrolled in the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) can use their benefits to purchase hot food. This temporary flexibility applies to all 100 counties in North Carolina and the nearly 700,000 households enrolled in the FNS program. The NCDHHS is working closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure people impacted by Hurricane Helene receive assistance as soon as possible. For more information, click here.
• If you need to apply for the Disaster Suupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) or help your patients apply for it, you can access the portal beginning on Oct. 15. The NCDHHS has prepared $120 million for applicants from affected western counties. You can learn more about these funds and how to apply for them here.
• If you need to locate the health records of a displaced or missing patient, you can access NC HealthConnex (even if you don't already have a preexisting agreement with the NC HIEA). For more information, click here.
• Mental health crisis lines are available here.

How to Give to Relief Efforts

There are multiple ways to assist through your donations. We are recommending the following:

• We are partnering with the NC Medical Society’s Disaster Recovery Assistance Fund to help other impacted practices. You can make donations directly to that fund here.
• Another way to assist impacted practices is by donating to the NC Medical Society’s Disaster Relief Fund here.
• For general relief donations to support the people of western North Carolina, we are recommending contributions to the NC Disaster Relief Fund here.
• The American Academy of Family Physicians is collecting donations to support Heart to Heart International and International Medical Corps, which deliver on-the-ground supports. You can donate here.

Other Resources for Relief Efforts

General Relief and Information

• You can find plenty of information through the NC Department of Public Safety’s Hurricane Helene information page.
• You can find a comprehensive list of County Emergency Management Agencies here.
• The NC Department of Health and Human Services also has published general Helene Recovery Resources.
• A list of Open Pharmacies can be found here.
• Real-time water outage updates due to Helene can be found here.
• Those needing FEMA Assistance can call 1-800-621-3362 or go to www.disasterassistance.gov for more information.
• A list of NC Shelters operated by ReadyNC.gov can be found here.
• Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are available to businesses and residents in North Carolina, thanks to three new emergency centers opened in Asheville, Boone, and Charlotte. For more information, click here.

FEMA Disaster Assistance

• FEMA applications are now open: individuals can begin applying for individual assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling the application number at 1-800-621-3362 between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
• FEMA has also approved new relief programs for use in NC:
  • Displacement Assistance - Provides immediate housing for up to 14 days
  • Serious Needs Assistance - Provides immediate financial assistance to replace and recover financial needs.