Many of the partners involved in Rx Response helped the victims of Hurricanes Katrina. They worked to streamline the process of providing much-needed prescription medicines to the Gulf Coast and shelters throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Soon after Katrina struck, PhRMA president and CEO Billy Tauzin, who represented parts of the devastated Gulf Coast in Congress for 25 years, said “We want to make certain that every single person who needs help gets it during the difficult weeks and months ahead. These people include an estimated 400,000 unemployed residents of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. . . . We’re here to offer a helping hand at a time when so many people need it the most.”
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a number of pharmaceuticals companies donated refrigerated insulin, vaccines, antibiotics, antiseptics, non-prescription pain relievers and other drugs; wound care products, surgical equipment, millions of cans of infant formula, tens of thousands of personal care kits and a wide range of other supplies and cash.
Hurricane Katrina contributions also included three 80-foot long “labs on wheels” that provided health care staff working at mobile hospitals with the most modern diagnostic equipment, an emergency diabetes clinic at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Medical Center, company aircraft to transport critically ill patients to emergency treatment centers and tens of thousands of doses of tetanus vaccine for both victims and emergency relief workers.
In addition to the pharmaceutical and medical assistance, mobile and temporary pharmacies were set up in shelters throughout Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas – including the AstroDome. Pharmacists from around the country traveled to temporary shelters and hurricane ravaged areas to serve patients. When those needing care could not travel to a shelter, often pharmacists would bring medication to patients.
America’s healthcare distributors continued to deliver much needed medical supplies and disaster aid packages to communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Effective and rapidly deployed emergency services triggered by Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the leadership of healthcare distributors, represented by The Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA).
"Our central mission as distributors and as corporate citizens is to work across the supply chain to ensure safety, efficiency and medication access," said HDMA President and CEO John M. Gray. "In an emergency, patients depend on distributors to ensure medication availability. We responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, donating funds, time, staff and resources in order to provide 24 by 7 delivery of lifesaving medicines, supplies, services and support to victims in the affected area."
On the Federal level, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) paid out more than $15.3 billion to hundreds of thousands of policyholders affected by Hurricane Katrina. As for private property, FEMA removed more than 99 million cubic yards of debris from the Gulf Coast region, including public lands. These and other protective measures are part of FEMA's Public Assistance Program, which has obligated more than $3.7 billion in grants—many to state and local governments—in addition to $4.8 billion in "mission assignments" to repair roads, bridges, public utilities and other public infrastructure.
