In the wake of severe flooding and tornadoes that damaged communities in rural Kentucky in July, Humana Foundation CEO Tiffany Benjamin says future investments in rural areas can help bolster health equity before natural disasters strike again.
Ms. Benjamin, head of the philanthropic arm of the Louisville, Ky.-based insurer, wrote about the payer's efforts to help Kentucky communities damaged by natural disasters in a Sept. 16 op-ed for the Louisville Courier Journal.
The foundationprovided $500,000 toward relief efforts for victims of recent floods.
Ms. Benjamin wrote that flooding destroyed much of the health infrastructure in communities that were already medically underserved.
"When disaster strikes — such as the tornadoes last December or the floods last month — rural residents' needs move from chronic to acute and, far too often, it's a piecemeal approach on the long road to recovery," Ms. Benjamin said.
Beyond rebuilding facilities and attracting more providers to rural areas, Ms. Benjamin said more needs to be done to address systemic inequities in healthcare.
"A warming planet indicates that natural disasters will continue," Ms. Benjamin said. "However, the destruction and subsequent destabilization of homes and families can be curtailed with investment, time and coordination."
Read the full op-ed here.