Nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, a number of Puerto Rican dialysis patients who are left without a hospital must travel by plane for lifesaving treatment, The Atlantic reports.
Hurricane Maria destroyed the hospital on the island of Vieques, which housed the island's only dialysis clinic. Nearly seven months after the storm, 14 Vieques residents must still board a plane three days a week for kidney dialysis at a center in Humacao on Puerto Rico's main island.
The round trip can take at least 12 hours, setting off an ongoing crisis for patients with kidney failure who cannot survive without dialysis.
Here are six things to know.
1. It is unclear when these critically ill patients will be able to access their lifesaving treatments in Vieques, as federal and local officials and nonprofit groups debate strategy and finances. Additionally, it is unclear when the hospital will be rebuilt. Meanwhile, the government and nonprofit organizations have not taken responsibility for paying for the patients' flights.
2. Since the hospital was condemned due to storm damage, the majority of its medical services were transferred to a nearby tented facility. However, dialysis is not able to be performed in that setting, since the machines that filter impurities from patients' blood need clean water and a consistent source of power.
3. Puerto Rican government officials are debating several solutions for restoring the island's dialysis services, such as bringing in mobile clinics and finding another building to house the services.
4. Rafael Rodríguez-Mercado, MD, Puerto Rico's health secretary, said in a March interview in Washington, D.C., that the department is looking to bring in mobile dialysis units that should arrive within four to six weeks, according to The Atlantic. Dr. Rodríguez-Mercado also said the government is looking for buildings that could house temporary dialysis services in Vieques.
5. In the meantime, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is working with the territory's health department and the federal Department of Health and Human Services "to help identify costs for mobile or temporary units that are eligible reimbursement expenses," the agency said in an email to The Atlantic.
6. The email said officials aim to reconstruct buildings that "meet the needs of the community with resiliency for future disasters." However, "no long-term solution has been identified yet for any reimbursement costs for reconstruction," the email added.