Urgent care clinics reopen near Helene-ravaged Asheville, giving residents crucial lifeline
Urgent care facilities have started to reopen providing a crucial lifeline for many people in western North Carolina who for the past week had little access to food, water, electricity and convenient health care in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
CANDLER, N.C. — Urgent care facilities have started to reopen in western North Carolina, providing a crucial lifeline for many people in the region who have had little access to food, water, electricity and convenient health care for the last week in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Elena Gherasim, 42, of West Asheville, said it was a “huge blessing” to have a FastMed Urgent Care open so close to her home after she unexpectedly needed to seek medical attention for her 14-year-old son Saturday morning.
“He took a shower and right after he took a shower, a big rash on his neck started and his face was swollen. When I woke up this morning it was a little worse, so I had to bring him,” she said outside of FastMed’s Candler location.
Gherasim, who works at Mission Hospital in Asheville, said the water stopped working at her family’s home about two days after the storm. When the water started working again Friday, her son took a shower.
“I’m guessing contaminated water and he had an allergic reaction,” she said. They were headed to a pharmacy to pick up medication for the teen.
Rating: 5