The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and several state officials gave an update on response efforts in areas that were hit the hardest by Hurricane Helene. North Carolina requested an additional 375 medical, public and disaster response personnel. Teams on the ground have provided 24-hour care in medical tents to keep up with the influx of patients arriving to area hospitals. During a news conference at Mission Hospital, Sen. Thom Tillis said the effort is ongoing.
"We have a certain muscle memory and experience with positioning assets out on the coast," he said. "This was right out of, I mean, this is a new playbook. For anybody who thinks that any level of government, anybody here could have been prepared precisely for what we're dealing with here, (they) clearly are clueless."
Officials also said an additional medical team is headed to western North Carolina to support an urgent care clinic opening.