By Lauren Rutledge | Senior Manager
Over six months after Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica with Category 5 winds, heavy rain and destructive storm surge, Americares continues to support repair of hospitals and health centers and increase capacity for mental health services in the affected area.
In Haiti, which saw extensive flooding, Americares is providing medicine and medical supplies—including water purification supplies—to protect the health of survivors.
Americares Response
Immediate Health Care for Survivors: In coordination with local staff, a 16-person emergency medical team operated a mobile clinic. The team provided 826 consultations, provided nearly 800 prescriptions and 110 mental health interventions.
Medicine and Medical Supplies: Americares provided six emergency shipments of medicine and medical supplies, sending 19 tons in all. The shipment contained enough medicine to fill 76,000 prescriptions.
Supporting Local Partners: Americares awarded more than $100,000 in flash grants to local organizations, enabling them to respond to immediate community needs, from debris clearance and shelter support to health outreach to communities that larger response efforts had not yet reached.
Repairs to Hospitals and Health Centers: Americares is funding repairs and water systems at multiple hospitals and health centers, supplying materials for outpatient facility repairs, and providing a mobile medical van and community outreach for displaced survivors.
Mental Health: Americares is funding mental health support programs in hardhit communities, including school-based programs and additional services across the affected region.
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): In Jamaica, Americares is funding the installation of water tanks at some schools to ensure reliable access to clean water for students and staff and supporting a local organization working to control mosquito populations that can carry disease.
In Haiti, Americares delivered 681,120 water purification sachets to partner health facilities, enough to make more than 180,000 gallons of water safe to drink, protecting tens of thousands from cholera, dysentery, and typhoid fever.
Looking Ahead
Americares is collaborating with local partners and health authorities to plan repairs and reconstruction of more health facilities, including those that provide specialty care. These projects will help restore and strengthen health services, contributing to resilient communities for years to come.
Your Support in Action
Within days of the storm, Americares sent an emergency team and an EMT Type 1 Mobile clinic to Jamaica. The clinic was critical for patients who needed treatment for storm injuries or chronic health conditions.
For years, Janet had been depended on the health center in Ramble, Jamaica to care for high blood pressure and other health issues. But Hurricane Melissa destroyed the clinic—and damaged Janet’s home. When she learned that an Americares clinic was set up in nearby Chester Castle, Janet made the trip.
At the Americares EMT clinic, Janet was examined by a doctor. She received medications to manage her health conditions, restoring care that had been interrupted by Hurricane Melissa.
“We need help to get back on our feet again,” says Janet. “To start life over again. Without your assistance, we wouldn’t be here.”
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