Thank you so much for your continued well wishes and support! We made it through Hurricane Maria! St. John was hit with a great deal of rain and wind as well as high surf for 24+ hours and incurred additional significant damage. While nothing close to what Irma brought, we still had flooding and water damage to already unstable structures. Sadly, Island Health & Wellness Center was greatly impacted as well. They had put tarps over the open roof of the building but they were no match for Maria and the water poured in causing even more damage. Portions of the ceiling caved in throughout our entire office and caused extensive water damage and destroyed almost everything left in the office. I had taken out as much as I could but was unable to remove any of the furniture, computers, exam tables, office supplies, etc. With so many structures being damaged on the island, there was no safe, dry place to put large items. Luckily, I was able to save all of our patient folders/records as those are irreplaceable.
I am struggling to push through the feelings of defeat that have set in since Maria hit. The setbacks that not only Island Health, but the entire island, endured after being hit by a 2nd major hurricane in 2 weeks, made it harder to swallow the devastation and hardships. That being said, I am still very optimistic that we will rebuild and am still working on finding a temporary location so I can see patients in a more traditional manner again.
I have received many emails and Facebook messages of people offering to donate money, medical supplies and time. I can’t thank you all enough for your continued support and encouragement…it means so much and helps keep us all going down here! For those still interested in donating, please visit our donation page or feel free to send me an email at info@islandhealthcenter.org.
I will continue to post updates as we continue on this journey of recovery and renewal! Thank you!
-Sandy