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Free Medical Care For Hurricane Evacuees

Posted at 4:03 PM, Sep 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-12 20:16:09-04

Connectus Health offered free healthcare for hurricane evacuees staying in Tennessee.

Medical care can be critical for those fleeing natural disasters. 

"We got a call from the Red Cross yesterday. A gentleman over there called us, and let us know about a local mosque that had received several Irma evacuees," said Suzanne Hurley. "They were Arabic speaking so they had a language barrier." 

Hurley is the co-CEO of Connectus Health. She said they receive federal funding to give natural disaster victims medical attention free of charge. 

Hurley said, "They needed medication for a 4-year-old child who had asthma and was really struggling. They had reached out to the patient's healthcare facility back home in Florida, they didn't have access to anything, they couldn't get to their records, they couldn't really help this patient."

NewsChannel5's Alexandra Koehn met that family over the weekend at a local mosque. Connectus and the Red Cross saw the storyand helped that little boy get asthma medication.

"We just get in there, see what they need, and we're here to refill those prescriptions, and give them what they need," said Hurley.

As more evacuees filter into town, shelters are dealing with their initial needs first.

Pastor Morgan Gordy said, "What we're hoping to do is give them some hot lunch and let them take a shower, and take a nap."

Two evacuees made it to Christ Lutheran Church in Antioch on Tuesday. They will get signed up with FEMA, then they can be connected to free medical care.

"That's critical because when people have to pack up and leave quickly, very often they come with what supplies and medication they have if they think about bringing them," said Gordy.

Pastor Gordy said some evacuees lost everything.

"For a lot of people they leave and they don't have their medication, and they need their medications whether it's for heart, or for diabetes, or for whatever," said Gordy.

As the first evacuees settle into their nursery that was converted into a shelter, the people at Connectus Health are standing by ready to help. 

Hurley said, "This is what we do every single day, we work with those in need. So hurricane evacuees who are in need, it's just second nature to us." 

For more information on free health care you can visit the Conectus website.