Five on Friday: Helicopter Flights Delivering Key Medicines in Ongoing Crisis in Puerto Rico and the Early Hours of the Sonoma Wildfires

Fri, 10/20/2017 | by Claire Hutkins Seda

MCN Five on Friday

This week’s Five on Friday gives a glimpse into how closely we are watching the health and safety developments in the days after the disasters around the hemisphere. Many of the patients we serve have been directly or indirectly affected by a crisis in the last month. What are you reading to keep you informed? Send us the articles and resources that opened your eyes on Facebook.

A Doctor’s Abandoned Journey Into Isolated Puerto Rico

Alyssa, Environmental and Occupational Health Intern, shared the New York Times article that exemplifies ongoing need in Puerto Rico: “A Doctor’s Abandoned Journey Into Isolated Puerto Rico.”

With Access to Some Communities Still a Challenge, Helicopter Flights Get Key Medicines to Isolated Areas

Alma, Senior Program Manager of Environmental and Occupational Health, shared, “With Access to Some Communities Still a Challenge, Helicopter Flights Get Key Medicines to Isolated Areas,” on Puerto Rico -- the photo features a few of our close collaborators on the island, Daniel Ramos and Alexis Romero.

Lack of information in Spanish limits Hispanics in the fires of Sonoma County

Claire, Writer and Editor, shared a revealing account of the early hours of the Sonoma fires and how Spanish-language updates were at first hard to come by, leading to confusion and fear. The article, “Falta de información en español limitó a hispanos en incendios del condado de Sonoma,” is in Spanish and English.

I Had to 'Unlearn' Medicine to Treat Vulnerable Patients

Karen, CEO, shared “I Had to 'Unlearn' Medicine to Treat Vulnerable Patients,” which features stick-figure comics on treating patients without access to food, transportation, and other basic necessities.

Legal Marijuana is Saving Lives in Colorado, Study Finds

Amy, Environmental and Occupational Health Director, shared a Washington Post article on the preliminary data indicating that, since the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado, opioid overdose deaths have dropped.

Have a safe and healthy weekend.