A Father Turns to NDMS for Help Following Hurricane Helene

In a scene from every parent's nightmare, Brandon Pitman's 12-year-old son Gabriel needed specialized compound medicine to treat his seizures. But the local compounding pharmacy was closed following Hurricane Helene, and no other pharmacy in the area could produce the medication needed.

Following Hurricane Helene, ASPR's Jennifer Sawicky and Lindsey Corrente help Brandon Pitman get life-saving medication for his son Gabriel.

To make things worse, Brandon's cell phone had no service, so he couldn't call pharmacies outside the area for help. Even if he could find a pharmacy to fulfill the medication, due to storm damage delivery to his home was not an option.

Fortunately, ASPR's responders were ready to help. Brandon brought his child with special needs, Gabriel, to ASPR's Base of Operations (BoO) at Blue Ridge Memorial Hospital in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, for help in securing the life-saving medication.

Two pharmacists from the National Disaster Medical System's Disaster Medical Assistance Team RI-1, Megan McCaskill and Jennifer Sawicky, and the Incident Management Team (IMT) pharmacist lead, Maya Leiva, collaborated to ensure Gabriel received his medication. First, they worked with the prescribing physician to determine the correct medications and dosages. Next, they located an open compounding pharmacy in Durham, NC - approximately 200 miles away - to prepare the medication.

Sometimes, a drug isn't right for a patient as it is usually dispensed. In these cases, the product may need to be compounded. For example, if the FDA-approved medication contains a dye the patient is allergic to, a compounding pharmacy can prepare a version of the drug that does not include that dye. The compounding pharmacy can prepare a liquid formulation if the patient can't swallow a tablet. A licensed pharmacist or physician combines, mixes, or alters the ingredients of a drug to create a tailored medicine that meets the specific needs of the patient.

The compounding pharmacy agreed to waive shipping and copayment fees, ensuring the Pitmans didn't incur any expenses. The pharmacists then focused on getting the medication to the Pitmans as quickly as possible. They arranged for the compounding pharmacy ship the medicine to the IMT in Charlotte and the ASPR logistics team delivered the medicine to the BoO in Spruce Pine.

The Pittman family had the medication in hand within 28 hours of coming to NDMS for help.

ASPR's Jennifer Sawicky and Lindsey Corrente help 12-year-old Gabriel Pitman get life-saving medication difficult to obtain after Hurricane Helene.

The NDMS is activated at a state's request when health resources are overwhelmed by disasters, such as a hurricanes, earthquakes, pandemics, or terrorist attacks.

A BoO is a modularly designed facility that allows NDMS to deploy assets to meet the needs of responders in the field. These assets can include hospital beds, medical equipment, and pharmaceuticals.