Local hospital joins Red Cross in support of typhoon relief
PRESQUE ISLE — Employees at TAMC are leading a local effort to ease widespread devastation in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. The storm, which occurred Nov. 8, has left many throughout the Philippine Islands scrambling to find food, shelter and clean water.
In response to this international crisis on a local level, TAMC is encouraging the community to give back by joining with the American Red Cross Pine Tree Chapter to support those in need by serving as a monetary donation site for relief efforts.
“We here at TAMC felt strongly that we had to do something to assist those affected by this awful storm. Often times when things happen so far away from home it’s easy to think that there’s not much that can be done to help,” said TAMC President and CEO Sylvia Getman. “We want to show people that the concept of community extends beyond geographical borders and are encouraging others to join in.”
Donations will be used to purchase and distribute relief items such as food, blankets, hygiene kits and mosquito nets, as well as to provide cash grants for use when markets begin functioning normally.
Since landfall of the storm, 10 American Red Cross disaster relief specialists have deployed to the Philippines, including a shelter specialist and a five-person team, joining the global Red Cross Emergency Response Team to assist with distributing relief supplies to affected communities. This is in addition to four specialists from the American Red Cross who arrived in the Philippines shortly after landfall to work on damage assessment and telecommunications.
Relief efforts are well under way as members of the Philippine Red Cross have begun distribution of relief aid and packing more supplies to send to all the affected areas. However, blocked roads and downed communication lines are making the response particularly challenging in the worst affected city of Tacloban. Significant storm damage has crippled the city’s infrastructure and has largely constrained the delivery of relief supplies.
“The Red Cross is dedicated both locally and internationally to providing relief to those folks that have been hit by this tragedy. Numerous families have been displaced by this storm and it is our duty at Red Cross to reach them with supplies and aid as quickly as possible,” said Joyce Knorr, American Red Cross Aroostook County branch manager. “We are thrilled here in Aroostook that TAMC has come forward to help those in dire need of assistance in the Philippines.”
TAMC is encouraging staff and community members to help in whatever small way they are able. Donations, cash or check, can be brought to the hospital’s cashier, located at the Pinkham Entrance of TAMC’s A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital on Academy Street in Presque Isle. Checks should be made payable to The American Red Cross Pine Tree Chapter with Typhoon Haiyan relief specified in the memo line.
Donations may be made from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. through the end of the business day Friday, Nov. 29; the office will be closed Thanksgiving Day.
