Mobile Clinic returns from NC after Hurricane Helene

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Chesapeake Regional Healthcare’s Mobile Clinic is back from providing aid in Western North Carolina, and they say this was an experience they were blessed to have.

“If we weren’t working on the bus with inventorying supplies, we were working in the store with helping them organize and organize their own supplies and helping them in any way we could,” said registered nurse Lisa Shoemaker.

Shoemaker said the community was special.

“I just want to let everybody know that these people are extremely hardworking people,” Shoemaker said. “They live out in the country in the middle of nowhere. It was utter devastation out there. They lost their homes.”

The team said after individuals received care, they made amazing connections.

“There was a little kindergartner that made a picture and it has — you can see trees down,” said Family Nurse Practitioner Tanyell Thomas. “You can see she drew a lot of people on there. And she said that you were fantastic.”

“Someone else said ‘I feel so much better. My neck doesn’t hurt,’ so he was really excited,” Thomas said. “He asked if he could give me a hug, and prior to leaving, he told me he loved me. So that was that was special.”

The medical team said they felt blessed to be in position to lend a helping hand. Their mission: make sure those in North Carolina aren’t forgotten.

“So that’s what we’re looking at is, in a month or so from now, it’s going to be getting cold in the mountains,” said Morgan Allen, director of population health with Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, “and people are still going to probably be without power.”

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