As the East Coast braces for Hurricane Matthew, NACDS partner Healthcare Ready, a nonprofit that works to protect patient access to healthcare during times of disaster, is monitoring the projection and anticipated impacts of the massive storm.

The group announced that it is preparing to activate Rx Open on October 7—a free, interactive map that shows open and closed pharmacies for both citizens and responders.

Healthcare Ready is coordinating with officials at Federal Emergency Management Agency the Department of Health and Human Services, and in the affected states, to provide assistance. State-specific resources, including guidance on business reentry, can be found on their website. Follow the group on Twitter for updates and, if you become aware of situations that may adversely affect healthcare supply or care in the affected area, or would like to request the assistance of Healthcare Ready, please contact the Healthcare Ready Support Team atalerts@healthcareready.org, or call 1 (866) 247-2694.

In response to the historic flooding in Louisiana, NACDS member companies—demonstrating the vital role they play in the communities they serve—immediately stepped in to provide assistance for those in need, in collaboration with public health partners and emergency preparedness authorities.

NACDS member companies—demonstrating the vital role they play in the communities they serve—immediately stepped in to provide assistance for those in need…

As of print time, these are the relief efforts NACDS members have been involved in. If your company also participated in these efforts, or has updated information, please send an email to NACDS’ Lisa Boylan so we can report on it in upcoming editions of CEO Issue Update, as this is a long-term relief initiative and we want to accurately reflect member efforts.

To date, these are the member actions NACDS has observed in media reports:

• Albertsons accepted donations for the American Red Cross Louisiana Flood Relief in southern Louisiana stores and the Albertsons Company Foundation has pledged to match donations dollar for dollar up to $300,000. Albertsons also allowed the City of Denham Springs to operate in their parking lot and store for a period of time and provided temporary shelter to evacuees. Albertsons operates 19 stores in the region.
• CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation announced a $100,000 donation in cash and in-kind support to organizations providing relief efforts to flood victims in central Louisiana, including the Salvation Army USA Southern Territory and the American Red Cross. CVS operates 131 stores in the area.
• The Rite Aid Foundation recently donated an additional $50,000 to the American Red Cross Louisiana Capital Area for flood victims in Louisiana, adding to the foundation’s August 15 donation of $50,000. Rite Aid operates 61 stores in Louisiana, including 11 in the greater Baton Rouge area.
• Southeastern Grocers LLC matched customer contributions to its Winn-Dixie, BI-LO and Harveys stores for the flood relief efforts dollar for dollar through the Southeastern Grocers Foundation. Southeastern Grocers LLC operates 43 stores in the region.
• Target is donating $400,000 to assist Baton Rouge and the surrounding communities affected. The donation includes $100,000 to both the Salvation Army and American Red Cross to aid shelter and relief [ READ MORE ]
  

Mother Nature’s might is revealing itself yet again in the West Virginia flooding of three weeks ago. Also on display is the power of the helping hand and the human spirit – with the customers, employees and business partners of Fruth Pharmacy figuring significantly in the relief effort.

“VERY DEVASTATING”

Fruth describes the flash flooding of June 23, 2016, as only a true West Virginian can. She tells of the tragic loss, and near misses, of people she knows well, and she compares the flooding to other infamous days in the state’s history.

“It reminds me of the Buffalo Creek flood,” she said, referring to a tragic dam burst in 1972. “People heard the water coming, ran to the highest point and watched the water come in.”

Given the number of people in the extended pharmacy family who know Fruth, the question on the minds of many is how the people and property of the 29-store chain fared.

“We were really fortunate,” she said. “There was disaster all around us. Our new store took on minimal water, but we were really completely spared as a chain. We had no loss of employees or their immediate family’s homes. Having said that, within a few miles of our stores, we had loss of life, children swept away, tremendous loss. It is very devastating.”

She recounted one story of a neighbor who was sad to stand on the site of her family’s dream home that had been ruined, but whose emotions were focused more intently on those across the street who were swept away along with their home in the flood waters – leaving them among those who truly lost everything.

“That’s perspective,” Fruth said.

For West Virginians, the stories are many and cut deep – and so, too, are the motivations to help make a difference for those who got by with a near miss.

“HELPING CUSTOMERS KNOW THEY’RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE”

When Fruth talks about her company’s involvement in the relief effort, she puts everything in terms of the company’s customers, employees and [ READ MORE ]