Health Impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on St Thomas and St John, US Virgin Islands, 2017-2018.

Abstract

<i>Objectives.</i> To assess the health impact of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria on St Thomas, US Virgin Islands.<i>Methods.</i> We collected data from interviews conducted 6 and 9 months after the hurricanes, a review of 597 randomly selected emergency department (ED) encounters, and administrative records from 10 716 ED visits 3 months before, between, and 3 months after the hurricanes.<i>Results.</i> Informants described damaged hospital infrastructure, including flooding, structural damage, and lost staff. The greatest public health impact was on the elderly and persons with chronic diseases. In the setting of loss of the electronic medical record system, ED chart reviews were limited by problems with missing data. ED administrative data demonstrated that posthurricane patients, compared with prehurricane patients, were older and had less severe complaints. There was a significant increase in patients being seen for diabetes-related and respiratory complaints, especially asthma. Suboptimal recordkeeping for medical evacuees limited the ability to assess outcomes for patients with severe illnesses.<i>Conclusions.</i> Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused major disruptions to health care on St Thomas. Emphasis should be given to building a resilient health care system that will optimally respond to future hurricanes.