Beginning an unimaginable assault on vulnerable coastal communities, Hurricane Ian made landfall just south of Tampa, Florida, hitting the southwest coast at the island of Cayo Costa near Fort Myers and Cape Coral on Wednesday, September 28, 2022 as a terrifying Category 4 Atlantic hurricane with a deadly storm surge.
“I looked down the street and saw this big black thing coming — it was literally a wall of water,” says Jo, a retired nurse who lives in Cape Coral, Florida.
Minutes later, the filthy storm surge from Hurricane Ian swept into her home, swirling around her ankles, and Jo ran through the flood to safety at her neighbor’s elevated house. And that was just the beginning: For months after the storm, Jo lived in her damp and damaged home, without power or clean water. A year later, she lives in a trailer while she slowly rebuilds.
Photo: A patient is comforted at Samaritan Health & Wellness Center
Watch a video from Samaritan Health, by clicking on the arrow.
Recovering from Ian
Hurricane Ian delivered a massive blow to central Florida communities, killing nearly 150 people and leaving damage estimated at $100 billion.
Samaritan Health and Wellness was just one of 16 Florida partners Americares has supported in the year after Hurricane Ian: In all, Americares has provided more than $1.5 million in aid. The emergency funds allowed clinics to stay open and meet the health needs of thousands of hurricane survivors living with low incomes. Americares also provided local clinic partners with enough medicine to fill more than 1,100 prescriptions, including tetanus vaccine, chronic disease medicine and the antibiotics that helped Jo.
Cindy Marshall (left) sees Jo (right) for a check up at Samaritan Health and Wellness in Cape Coral, Florida on August 9, 2023 (Photo/Mike Demas).
Our Early Response
Americares immediately launched a response and contacted more than 200 partner organizations across Florida, Georgia and Alabama in advance of the storm to offer assistance.
Shortly after the hurricane made landfall, Americares deployed an emergency response team to Florida to assess health needs and coordinate deliveries of critically needed medicines, relief supplies, hygiene kits, tetanus vaccines, bottled water and help health clinics continue operating for survivors.
Americares also had a team of disaster mental health specialists on the ground that provided mental health support to health workers who were survivors themselves to ensure they could continue their lifesaving work.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Americares has been supporting the following health partners in Florida who are focused on ensuring low-income, uninsured and underinsured storm survivors have access to essential health services:
Good Samaritan Health and Wellness Inc. in Cape Coral, Fla.
Presbyterian Counseling Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Englewood Community Care Clinic in Englewood, Fla.
Midwest Food Bank in Fort Myers, Fla.
Premier Mobile Health Services in Fort Myers, Fla.
Talbot House Ministries of Lakeland, Inc. in Lakeland, Fla
Dade County Street Response in Miami, Fla.
Suncoast Neighborhood Task Force Inc. in North Fort Myers, Fla.
Plea Global Resource Sharing in Orlando, Fla.
Specialized Treatment Education and Prevention Services Inc. in Orlando, Fla.
Virginia B. Andes Volunteer Community Clinic in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Charlotte Behavioral Health Care in Punta Gorda, Fla.
CenterPlace Health in Sarasota, Fla.
Samaritans Touch Care Center Inc. in Sebring, Fla.
The Salvation Army in Tampa, Fla.
Americares has helped our partners to:
Make urgent facility and roof repairs
Hire extra medical staff to meet the surge in demand from patients
Replace damaged medical equipment
Purchase fuel and propane for generators
Provide basic medical care
Distribute medicines
Provide food, clothing and hygiene items to people who lost their homes
Provide gas cards to clinic staff so they can get to work
New Partner Clinics
Americares team members meet with Nadine ‘Deanie’ Singh, the Executive Director of Premier Mobile Health Services, in Fort Myers, Florida to begin a new partnership. October 3, 2022. (Photo/Tija Danzig)
Deanie Singh was once an undocumented immigrant from Jamaica who grew up without access to healthcare. She dedicated her life to helping other people so they wouldn’t have to experience what she went through and is now a registered and board-certified nurse practitioner and the founder of Premier Mobile Health Services. Deanie submitted a proposal to help with surge staffing. This partnership will allow them to pay staff while her existing staff are dealing with their own personal losses so they can maintain full service at both of their mobile clinics and the walk-in clinic. Read more about Deanie in an Ian blog post.
Virginia B. Andes Volunteer Community Clinic in Port Charlotte, Fla. is another partner working with Americares as they recover from Hurricane Ian.
Our History
Americares has a long history of responding to emergencies in Florida and the Gulf Coast. The organization has been on the frontlines of recovery efforts following major hurricanes in the area in recent years, including Hurricanes Irma, Dorian and Michael. After Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm that devastated the Florida Panhandle in 2018, Americares delivered 61 shipments of medicines, medical supplies, hygiene products and other relief items and operated a temporary medical clinic in Panama City, Fla., that provided primary care services for more than 800 survivors.
Americares responds to more than 35 natural disasters and humanitarian crises worldwide each year, establishes long-term recovery projects and brings preparedness programs to communities vulnerable to disasters.
Americares maintains a constant state of readiness, so we can deploy quickly when disaster strikes. Our relief workers are among the first to respond to emergencies, helping to restore health services for survivors. After disasters, we often stay for months —or years—helping communities recover.
