x
Breaking News
More () »

Remote Area Medical returns from Irma relief trip

"It's just devastated," Sawyer said. "So you know that that next surge of illness is going to come out of all that and we're hoping to get some help there to prevent that."

Leaders from Remote Area Medical touched down in Titusville, Florida after distributing food and water filtration systems and evaluating the medical needs following the storm.

The team made stops in Puerto Rico, Saint Martin and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

Doctor Chris Sawyer says even though much of Tortola is flattened, the hospital is functioning.

"It wasn't a matter of having a CT or MRI of patient care, but a matter of having people to run them," Sawyer said.

Though the trauma brought by Irma has passed, Sawyer says the health risks remain.

"Most of the people are cut off and it's going to be a real problem with dirty water and the surge of water-borne diseases we're undoubtedly going to see next," Sawyer said.

Sawyer says without functioning sewer systems and trash disposal, the islands are at risk of outbreaks of diseases like cholera.

Since numerous pharmacies were flooded and many others were looted, Sawyer said people's common health will become troublesome when left untreated.

RELATED: RAM provides health care for Irma victims

"People lost all of their medicines and had no idea what they were on," Sawyer said. "You're going to start seeing more rises in blood pressure, diabetes and all the common ailments, but water-borne diseases and epidemic of some kind is certainly possible."

Sawyer says the next step for RAM is coordinating American doctors and nurses to relieve local healthcare professionals who have been working double and triple-shifts.

"It's just devastated," Sawyer said. "So you know that that next surge of illness is going to come out of all that and we're hoping to get some help there to prevent that."

RELATED: Knoxville family houses Florida students fleeing Irma

Despite the devastation, Sawyer says the people's spirit was encouraging.

"We're driving through ravaged communities and people are already out fixing things, already starting to clean up the place," Sawyer said.

RELATED: Will Maria follow in Irma's footsteps?

For other locations hit by the storm, RAM founder Stan Brock says the storms create even more need to RAM's traditional free health care clinics.

"What happens with these issues is these people two or three months after the event, when they sort of have their house dried out so to speak, they find that they've got no disposable income leftover to go to the dentist or to go to the eye doctor or the medical doctor," Brock said.

Brock says East Tennessee's support for RAM has been generous, but with another hurricane threatening the same islands Irma devastated, Brock says the need will be great again.

Before You Leave, Check This Out