[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 12, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H7226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          INCREDIBLE WORK DONE AT THE ALEXANDRIA MEGA SHELTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Abraham) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the incredible 
work performed by those running the Alexandria Mega Shelter in my 
district during the Hurricane Harvey evacuation.
  In Louisiana, we know too well how devastating hurricanes and 
flooding can be. When our neighbors in Texas needed help, Louisiana 
answered the call. At its peak, the Alexandria Mega Shelter housed 
1,800 people displaced by Hurricane Harvey.
  I visited with some of the victims and the workers, and I want to 
share with you some of the amazing work that went on there. The shelter 
provided a roof and a bed for people whose homes were flooded and 
destroyed; but as a physician, I was most impressed with the medical 
response that I saw at the shelter. On short notice, local healthcare 
providers banded together to set up a clinic to meet the health needs 
of these displaced people, including dialysis patients who could not 
miss treatments; if they did, they could die. The clinic allowed most 
patients to be treated in-house right there in the Mega Shelter, making 
their stay in the shelter easier than it might have been otherwise.
  Additionally, the shelter was able to send 1,800 pounds of donated 
medications and medical supplies to patients in Beaumont, Texas, whose 
people were struggling in the aftermath of the storm just to get the 
medicines they needed to survive themselves.
  Local pilots and aviators donated air time and resources to fly these 
medicines and these badly needed supplies to Beaumont where they could 
help these good people.
  I want to specifically mention the efforts of the Louisiana National 
Guard; the Louisiana State Police, including Superintendant Kevin 
Reeves and his troopers; Rapides Parish Sheriff William Earl Hilton and 
his deputies; and Azar Kayal and his staff at the Louisiana Department 
of Public Safety for their role in assisting the people at the shelter.
  I also want to mention Dr. Spencer Tucker, Dr. Emily Smith Grezaffi, 
Laura Pickett, Melinda Sanders, Nici English, Dr. David Holcombe, and 
all those with the Louisiana Department of Health, and emergency and 
local pharmacies who helped meet the medical needs of all these people 
displaced at this one shelter.
  Recovery from Harvey will be difficult, and now our prayers and 
thoughts are also with our friends in Florida who are dealing with the 
effects of Hurricane Irma that just passed. As tragic as these storms 
can be, they also tend to bring out the best in us as Americans, who 
always answer the call to serve and help those who are suffering. We 
are all one big family when these disasters hit.
  Thank you to all those at the Alexandria Mega Shelter who welcomed 
these displaced people in their time of need and hopefully made their 
ordeal a little better.

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