Announcing a New WNC HPI Podcast Series Exploring Lessons from The Healthcare Response to Hurricane Helene

Image Credit: NCDOTcommunications, licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution 2.0 Generic license.

The Western North Carolina Health Policy Initiative (HPI) has launched a new podcast series that takes a deep dive into a new WNC HPI research project exploring what we can learn about our region’s healthcare response in the days and weeks following Hurricane Helene’s devastating landfall across Western North Carolina on the evening of Sept 27, 2024.

This project is one of 21 Helene-focused research efforts supported by the North Carolina Collaboratory, and is driven by team members from across the North Carolina Center for Health & Wellness (NCCHW) and UNC Asheville’s Health Sciences department who are working to capture this critical piece of our region’s recent history.

What Is the Project About?

When Hurricane Helene hit, healthcare systems across Western North Carolina were put to the test. While there were some successes, especially at the grassroots level, the impact of the storm revealed many critical vulnerabilities that had long gone unaddressed, or simply not been recognized as such. As the sun rose on Sept 28th and the full extent of the destruction to our region’s critical infrastructures, communities, people and even the land itself became apparent, our healthcare systems went into crisis response mode, problem-solving their way back into functional service in whatever way they could to address the immediate and longer-term health impacts of the storm.

This research project, which was identified as a priority during the WNC HPI’s post-Helene refocusing efforts, seeks to understand how health system leaders navigated the crisis, including:

• What strategies worked?

• What barriers got in the way?

• And most importantly, what needs to change to create a stronger, more resilient healthcare system in the future?

With expertise from Alex Mitchell, Senior Project Manager for the NCCHW's Culture of Results Initiative, and Soni Pitts, Project Manager for the WNC HPI, along with support from Dr. Ameena Batada, Professor of Health Sciences at UNC Asheville, the team is conducting a series of interviews to gather insights directly from those who led hospitals, clinics and public health departments in the response following Helene’s impact in WNC. These interviews, along with a literature review to identify strategies, best practices and lessons learned from similar disasters elsewhere, will provide additional stories and data points to help inform resiliency planning, policy development and practice at local, regional, and state levels, as well as identify best-practices for leading in disaster and post-disaster settings.

Why It Matters

As climate-driven disasters become more common and the impacts larger and more widespread, our healthcare infrastructure must be prepared—not just logistically, but sustainably and across our rural communities. This project isn’t just about reflection; it’s about turning lived experience into forward-thinking action. For organizations. For governments. For communities.

By learning from the past, we build stronger systems for the future.

What to Expect from the Podcast Series

Over the course of this series, listeners will hear from our research team share:

• Behind-the-scenes looks at how the research was designed

• Emerging findings and reflections from interviews with healthcare leaders

• Final takeaways and policy implications from the study

Whether you’re a health professional, a policymaker, a student, or a community advocate, this series will offer valuable insights into how WNC’s health systems respond under pressure—and how we can do better next time.

Listen Now

Episode One: Weathering the Storm: Lessons Learned From the Healthcare Response to Helene Pt 1

Listen in wherever you get your podcasts—just search for WNC Health Policy Initiative on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or listen on the HPI website.

Disclaimer

This content was developed by the WNC Health Policy Initiative in consultation with people and organizations with connections to the health of people of Western North Carolina. Individual or organizational opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations are those of the relevant author(s)/interviewee(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the WNC Health Policy Initiative or its host institutions of the University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA), Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) or our funders.