Two Maui medics deploy to help Hurricane Helene survivors

Two Maui-based American Medical Response paramedics have deployed for two weeks to the Carolinas on the US East Coast to help survivors of Hurricane Helene. The hurricane has killed at least 220 people on the US East Coast, including 98 deaths in North Carolina.

Brett McElroy and Maile Calasa flew out of Maui on Sept. 27, said Candace Lahm, operations supervisor for AMR-Maui County. They were scheduled for only a week of deployment, but both decided to extend for another week.

“We are truly proud of them,” Lahm said. “They both have a lot of experience in their field to share and are truly dedicated to EMS, wanting to help wherever they can. Both are truly selfless individuals.”

McElroy, usually working out of AMR’s Makawao ambulance station, is in Greenville, South Carolina. There, he is at a Federal Emergency Management Agency camp, helping with emergency responses while roads are still being cleared. (Access to storm victims is a major obstacle for relief workers.)

Normally stationed in Lahaina, Calasa was sent to Asheville, North Carolina, where first responders are working 12-hour shifts on ambulances, according to Lahm. On Maui, Calasa also serves as chief flight medic for Maui Medevac, and she’s a member of the Maui Police Department’s Special Response Team.

Aside from McElroy and Calasa, a paramedic from Kauaʻi also has been deployed to the disaster area.

According to parent company Global Medical Response, more than 1,800 members of its personnel continue working in the disaster area.

“Since our deployment began last week, we have responded to almost 1,700 calls across two counties in three states,” GMR said. “Currently, strike teams are treating residents for a variety of issues across disaster zones in North Carolina, and trauma calls are on the rise.”

Aside from North and South Carolina, other states impacted by Hurricane Helene include Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia.