Hurricane Helene Recovery Efforts
As reports from Western North Carolina continue to come in, we’re all shocked by the level of damage and committed to doing what we can to help CCPN practices recover.
If your medical practice has been impacted, here are some important first steps:
- Contact your insurance company to determine what losses may be covered and what your deductibles will be. See if you have coverage for business interruption and/or mold and mildew damage. Depending on the deductible, filing for small claims may not be worth your time.
- Reach out to the Emergency Management Office in your county to see if you qualify for disaster recovery funds.
- See if you can identify a disaster recovery company that can handle flooding and the associated mold/mildew issues. Availability will be tight with demand so high but try to get a commitment to remediate your property as soon as possible to minimize worsening mold and mildew issues.
Please note that NC Medicaid has instituted some policy flexibilities (e.g., waiving of prior approval) to ease administration during Hurricane Helene recovery. The latest info on that is available here. These flexibilities are now slated to end on December 31.
If you have vulnerable patients that you have been unable to reach, please provide their information to emergency responders by calling 211. The Emergency Operations Center is going to create a form to submit names, but for now you can add them to the state's missing person list.
Here is a quick update on what CCPN is doing in response to Helene:
- Provider Relations Representatives have been reaching out to CCPN practices in the West to see how they fared in the storm, ask about their needs, and to determine if they are still open for operation.
- CCNC has compiled a comprehensive list of disaster recovery resources that is available on the left side of this page. There are many agencies working in the area from local, county, state and federal levels, so help is available. This link will remain the same even as new resources are added. Our list includes reputable organizations that are collecting relief funds should you be interested in helping in the recovery. Please be wary of donation scams that unfortunately tend to pop up after disasters.
- We are also offering the CCNC Call Center (877-566-0943) as a resource to CCPN practices and their patients. Call Center staff will have our list of local resources and be available for general questions. This is an important resource for the many folks out West who still don’t have internet access.
Hurricane Helene may have come through North Carolina quickly, but recovery is clearly going to take a long time. We’ll continue to keep you updated on what we’re doing to help as our plans evolve over the coming days and weeks. Please reach out to your Provider Relations Representative with any thoughts about how we may best assist your practice. Together, we’ll recover and get past this.
Tom Wroth, MD, MPH
CCNC President and CEO
