×

News publications and other organizations are encouraged to reuse Direct Relief-published content for free under a Creative Commons License (Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International), given the republisher complies with the requirements identified below.

When republishing:

  • Include a byline with the reporter’s name and Direct Relief in the following format: "Author Name, Direct Relief." If attribution in that format is not possible, include the following language at the top of the story: "This story was originally published by Direct Relief."
  • If publishing online, please link to the original URL of the story.
  • Maintain any tagline at the bottom of the story.
  • With Direct Relief's permission, news publications can make changes such as localizing the content for a particular area, using a different headline, or shortening story text. To confirm edits are acceptable, please check with Direct Relief by clicking this link.
  • If new content is added to the original story — for example, a comment from a local official — a note with language to the effect of the following must be included: "Additional reporting by [reporter and organization]."
  • If republished stories are shared on social media, Direct Relief appreciates being tagged in the posts:
    • Twitter (@DirectRelief)
    • Facebook (@DirectRelief)
    • Instagram (@DirectRelief)

Republishing Images:

Unless stated otherwise, images shot by Direct Relief may be republished for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution, given the republisher complies with the requirements identified below.

  • Maintain correct caption information.
  • Credit the photographer and Direct Relief in the caption. For example: "First and Last Name / Direct Relief."
  • Do not digitally alter images.

Direct Relief often contracts with freelance photographers who usually, but not always, allow their work to be published by Direct Relief’s media partners. Contact Direct Relief for permission to use images in which Direct Relief is not credited in the caption by clicking here.

Other Requirements:

  • Do not state or imply that donations to any third-party organization support Direct Relief's work.
  • Republishers may not sell Direct Relief's content.
  • Direct Relief's work is prohibited from populating web pages designed to improve rankings on search engines or solely to gain revenue from network-based advertisements.
  • Advance permission is required to translate Direct Relief's stories into a language different from the original language of publication. To inquire, contact us here.
  • If Direct Relief requests a change to or removal of republished Direct Relief content from a site or on-air, the republisher must comply.

For any additional questions about republishing Direct Relief content, please email the team here.

Emergency Shipments Depart for Flooded Communities in Nebraska

The region is still reeling from floodwaters that have deluged multiple states.

News

Extreme Weather

Shipments of medical aid leave Direct Relief's warehouse Thursday bound for Good Neighbor Community Health Center in Columbus, Nebraska. Included in the shipment were tetanus vaccines, which will be used to vaccinate people before the return to their home and begin clean-up from the widespread flooding that has damaged the region. (Lara Cooper/Direct Relief)
By Staff

Shipments of requested medical aid, including vaccines to protect against tetanus, left Direct Relief’s warehouse Thursday, bound for health centers in communities still reeling from flooding in Nebraska. The flooding, caused by heavy rains and melting snow, has contributed to the deaths of at least three people in Nebraska and Iowa.

Seventy-five percent of Nebraska’s 93 counties have declared states of emergency, and Direct Relief has been in contact with health providers across the region. On Thursday, shipments left Direct Relief’s warehouse bound for Good Neighbor Community Health Center, which is based in Columbus, Nebraska, but which also operates a site in Fremont, which was badly impacted by flooding.

The shipment included Tdap vaccines, requested for immunization clinics the health center has been coordinating, which will continue, throughout the week. As floodwaters recede and residents return to their homes, health concerns from exposure to black mold and respiratory infections to tetanus, which can enter the body through a break in the skin.

People involved in cleanup efforts or exposed to floodwaters or debris should be vaccinated against tetanus, and clinicians in Nebraska are working to hold vaccination clinics. The vaccines sent out Thursday will be used at immunization clinics in Columbus, North Bend and Fremont communities, where hundreds of people are still displaced.

In addition to the Tdap vaccines, personal care items were also shipped for people still displaced from their homes and living in shelters. Insect repellant and hand sanitizer was also requested and shipped. Missouri Primary Care Association contacted Direct Relief this week about health centers in that state that are working in impacted communities.

 

Shipments of medical aid leave Direct Relief's warehouse Thursday bound for Good Neighbor Community Health Center in Columbus, Nebraska. Included in the shipment were tetanus vaccines, which will be used to vaccinate people before the return to their home and begin clean-up from the widespread flooding that has damaged the region. (Lara Cooper/Direct Relief)
Shipments of medical aid leave Direct Relief’s warehouse Thursday bound for Good Neighbor Community Health Center in Columbus, Nebraska. Included in the shipment were tetanus vaccines, which will be used to vaccinate people before the return to their home and begin clean-up from the widespread flooding that has damaged the region. (Lara Cooper/Direct Relief)

Northwest Health Services, based in St. Joseph, Missouri, was impacted by the recent flooding. The health center has sites in 16 different counties across the northwest region of the state.

Though the health facilities escaped damage, the communities surrounding the sites in three counties, particularly in Mound City, are struggling. Water levels in the nearby Missouri River and its tributaries continue to rise and additional rain storms are expected to hit within the next week.

Several levees in the area have broken or are at risk for breaking. Clinical staff at Northwest Health Services said that the greatest needs for the area are water, hygiene supplies, tetanus vaccines, and personal protective equipment for clean-up.

Direct Relief is working to coordinate shipments of needed aid to the health center there, and across the region.

Filed Under: , , , , , , ,

Giving is Good Medicine

You don't have to donate. That's why it's so extraordinary if you do.