FLASCO Response to the Humanitarian Crisis in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria
- FLASCO
- January 18, 2018
- News
The Florida Society of Clinical Oncology has been actively coordinating efforts with multiple organizations, since September 20, 2017, when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, to ensure that cancer patients are receiving appropriate cancer care both here on the U.S mainland and in Puerto Rico.
On Sept 20th, the day that Hurricane Maria made land fall on Puerto Rico, the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology assembled a Task Force with Community Oncology Alliance, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and Florida Cancer Specialists in attempt to coordinate efforts to ensure that Puerto Rico cancer patients have access to cancer care. We focused on ensuring that patients who relocated to the U.S. mainland would have access to cancer care and collaborated with key oncology physician leaders in Puerto Rico to help the existing cancer care system regain their own ability to provide care in Puerto Rico.
The Task Force meets regularly (initially weekly) with key Puerto Rico Oncology leaders via phone conference in order to understand what the providers and patients in Puerto Rico are experiencing as obstacles to patient care. We assembled an e-mail “List Serve” to facilitate routine discussions to continue to resolve issues on a more frequent basis. We sent 5 satellite phones (with solar chargers) with the aid of a HHS/CMS scheduled flight before routine flights were re-established to the island. We coordinated efforts with HHS/CMS to establish “waivers” for pre-authorizations for Medicare/Medicaid patient services. We coordinated communications between the physicians who run local cancer clinics (>75% of the cancer care there is given in local clinics, not hospitals) and FEMA to ensure access/priority to fuel to run the generators that power the clinics and infusion centers. We coordinated services with local transportation services in Puerto Rico to facilitate patient transportation to the clinics for cancer care. We started a patient assistance fund with Cancer Care, dedicated specifically to Puerto Rico cancer patients, and have raised over $400,000. Given the current national Intravenous Fluid (IVF) shortage and the essential need of IVFs to administer chemotherapy medications and the IVF shortage on the island, we procured 7000 bags of IVF, while shipping costs were paid for by a national distributor who also donated numerous amounts of medical/surgical supplies. These goods were sent to Puerto Rico and distributed to the medical oncologists across the island.
Several of the cancer patients from Puerto Rico have relocated to the U.S. mainland to seek refuge and have established care with multiple facilities in Florida. We are coordinating efforts with the American Cancer Society to identify facilities who can care for these patients as many have Puerto Rico Medicaid which does not typically compensate for care provided outside of Puerto Rico. We have a list of providers in Florida who have agreed to provide cancer care for patients regardless of medical coverage or ability to pay for services. Specific examples include Moffitt Cancer Center, a hospital and outpatient based facility, who has accepted several patients to provide their care and Florida Cancer Specialists, a private practice with over 80 clinic sites across Florida, who is actively managing the care for over a dozen Puerto Rico Cancer patients. Additionally, the American Cancer Society has been working with finding charitable assistance across the country for patients relocating outside of Florida. Most facilities in Florida do not have the ability to house patients on a long term basis. The private practice facilities do not typically have the ability to provide, or ensure hospital based care for procedures, etc. Not all of the facilities taking care of patients have the ability to provide for the non-cancer related medical needs of these patients, such as management of other medical conditions such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease, or significant complications that can develop from the cancer or the treatment that may require in patient care/management or advanced procedures.
We have been fortunate to date with providing cancer care in Florida given this humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico.
