By: K. Karington, HHCS Health Group of Cos.
Posted: 9/18/2019
We’re all doing our part to help our southern neighbors in the Bahamas who have been devastated by Hurricane Dorian. Our Director of Pharmacy Services Kimberly Hicks (above) journeyed to Nassau in September with her husband and volunteered to assist with meals needed for the evacuees at local shelters (photo below). The effort was organized by World Central Kitchen.*
Our pharmacies’ CEO N. Lois Adams supported this important relief effort on behalf of our pharmacies. Her organization has been committed to the community for over 50 years.
Dr. Hicks has a heart for disaster relief. She said, “If we all do our part, it will make things a little better for those affected by disasters.”
She understands firsthand from many years of pharmacy emergency preparedness preparation in Florida, the anxiety and stress people experience after a storm. Her top priority has always been making sure that our pharmacies’ patients do not miss medications and have adequate doses on hand after each storm.
After Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Hicks went with a team from her church (as their ‘medical liaison’) to the Houston Astrodome to assist those families from New Orleans displaced by the terrible flooding. Dr. Hicks said, “Our group offered to house those affected for six months, reinstate their social security cards & driver’s licenses & guide them to obtain employment. We were able to assist 29 families.”
Dr. Hicks also fondly recalls a trip she made to the Dominican Republic with a group to help share the arts & personal hygiene items to children living in orphanages. She said, “The children’s faces lit up when the girls performed! It was as if they were attending a Broadway show. They’d never seen anything like that before.”
Dr. Hicks also said, “The Dominican people have a heart of gold. A reward of these mission trips is that you gain a greater appreciation for overall health and life. These experiences help keep things in perspective of what is truly important. Our pharmacies (Cystic Fibrosis & Freedom Pharmacies) are committed to the community as a whole!”
In addition to our Director of Pharmacy Service’s humanitarian efforts, there’s been a long-term relief and recovery mission fundraiser organized by our marketing director’s son Keith Ingersoll & her nephew Dr. Chris Leader, plus Pastor Paula White (who has a significant network of faith groups throughout the Bahamas) & other pastors in coordination with Food Aid International, Inc. This fundraiser is the Bahamas Relief & Recovery Fund.
Keith Ingersoll is, “utilizing his personal resources to raise the immediate need of $1 million.” Monies raised will help rebuild the communities & lives of those families in Grand Bahama Island & the Abaco Islands that were impacted by Hurricane Dorian.
The amazing outpouring of support for our southern neighbors continues. If you would like to physically or financially assist, here’s more info on the Bahama efforts of World Central Kitchen & the Bahamas Relief & Recovery Fund.
* NOTE: As of September 16, World Central Kitchen had served 250,000 meals in the Bahamas during September with the help of its supporters.
Dr. Hicks & family volunteering in the Bahamas
Credit: Wikipedia image Hurricane Dorian made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane on the Abaco Islands on Sept. 1, 2019. A day later it hit Grand Bahama Island, also as a Category 5, where it stalled for another day. According to Wikipedia, there were at least 50 deaths in the Bahamas.