As time has passed since the disaster, the number of emergency medical evacuations has gradually decreased, but there are still people in need of various types of care. The number of outbreaks of infectious diseases is not completely zero yet. Some people still visit the night clinic operated by HuMA.
HuMA continues to make rounds at evacuation centers and home visits to evacuees. Today, we visited 12 locations.
People who evacuate their homes have their own reasons. We visited a couple today who were hit by the tsunami. The wife needs her husband’s assistance to take her to the portable toilet, and the husband is also elderly and concerned about the high risk of both of them falling. However, they refuse to leave their home because they still find it difficult to live in a shelter. The husband said he would follow his wife’s wishes and support her.
Another person who was also affected by the tsunami, but who is quite visually impaired, is staying at home because he does not want to leave his family’s Buddhist altar. We visit these people with a team of public health nurses and constantly share information with their families in the neighborhood and in distant places.
After the earthquake, there are people who cannot access nursing care services and remain in shelters or at home. We also receive voices from them that bathing is difficult and they have not been able to take a bath for a long time. Because the safety of their homes has not yet been evaluated, some people are staying in their cars all the time because they are worried about spending the night at home.
A woman had been unable to contact anyone because she thought her cell phone was broken. When we visited her today, we found that her cell phone was actually just not turned on. Things that we would normally take for granted can happen in the midst of an earthquake. In addition to medical care, we would like to continue to provide support with the public health nurse team so that no matter how small the problem may seem, we will not overlook it.
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| Visiting the homes of elderly people living alone | Coordination meeting with the public health nurse team to exchange information and discuss future plans for the shelter |