Iowa nurse establishes care facility in NC airport after fatal hurricanes

DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa nurse spent 10 days establishing a care center in an airport and helping those in the North Carolina mountains after the recent hurricanes.

Ashley Lester lives on a farm in Warren County and is a PRN at the Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines. Ashley was watching the news and following along on social media after Hurricane Helene struck. Seeing people all across the south in need awoke something in her.

“It was literally this ache inside that I just had to follow a calling, I needed to get down there,” said Lester. “Wherever it was I needed to get there, I needed to help. I just felt like I have so many things I can give.”

Her friend, Dr. Mollie James, was arranging a team. She reached out and by the next day she was on the road. She helped gather medical supplies in Des Moines and Chariton. The whole drive down her goal was clear, find as many people as possible and provide whatever type of care they needed.

Ashley worked with a civilian group, establishing themselves at the Avery County Airport. They were able to turn an unused hanger into a storage facility and medical bay. The first few days were the hardest as they struggled to set up the facility and help local residents.

“We started putting up shelving, putting up medical supplies, we put out two tailgating tents in the front of the building for a triage area. From there it just kind of blew up, we started seeing patients, we started going out in helicopters doing field missions.”

Once the center was set up the next step was getting help to people who are not easily accessible. Groups of medical professionals used ATVs and helicopters to navigate the rough terrain and mountains.

“We decided that we wanted to do rural areas. A lot of the bigger cities like Asheville they’re getting a lot of attention. These smaller rural towns are not, and they are absolutely devastated, they didn’t have as many resources, ” said Lester.

Ashley says that most of the people in the mountains are prepared for events like this. Unfortunately, preparedness can only go so far, the demand for resources was still high. Ashley’s crew gathered lists of supplies from people and then compiled care packages to bring back.

The center is fortunate and has consistent shipments of supplies that keep them well stocked. Ashley says as winter approaches the supplies they need are changing. Winter gear, heaters, and propane are currently in high demand as resources remain unavailable.

The other item in high demand, helping hands. Volunteers and medical professionals are needed, but Ashley warns it’s not an easy task. The crew works around the clock often catching only a few hours of sleep at a time.

“You have to be able to come and be self-sustainable. You can’t worry about taking a shower every day, some days you can’t worry about eating three meals a day because it’s not going to happen. You also have to prepare mentally.”

Though the experience was an emotional one, Ashley says she’s glad she listened to the call. Ashley returned home earlier this week but intends to go back in the next few weeks. She fears that in our fast-paced world, disasters happen all the time and then they are just as quickly forgotten.

“They are going to rebuild, they are going to keep going, but just because another disaster or something else comes along in our country we can’t forget about these people. We can’t hopscotch, moving from one group to the next, we can’t forget about them.”

The Avery County Airport is expected to be used as a medical and supply center for at least another month. To follow along with the work being done at the airport visit their Facebook page.

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