When Disaster Strikes, We Respond

Providing essential medical care and humanitarian relief, when and where it’s needed most.

Program Overview

Since 1992, we have responded to hurricanes, flooding, tornadoes, wildfires, earthquakes and humanitarian and health crises in the United States and around the world.

Our responses include shipping hygiene kits, medical supplies and aid, deploying staff and medical volunteers, equipping and sending portable container clinics, and supporting existing clinics.

Latest Responses

Ukraine Response

Heart to Heart International has been actively involved in Ukraine relief efforts, providing substantial aid to support the health and well-being of those affected by the ongoing conflict.

Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across the Southeastern United States, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake.

California Wildfire

Heart to Heart International is Providing Urgent Relief to Communities Affected by the Fires in California. Be part of the solution. Your donation delivers relief to the heart of the disaster zone.

Since March 14, devastating tornadoes, high winds, and wildfires have swept across the Southern Plains, leaving at least 40 people dead and thousands more are left grappling with the destruction of their homes and communities.

Myanmar Earthquake

A catastrophic 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28, causing widespread devastation and claiming over 2,700 lives so far. In response, Heart to Heart International is mobilizing to address the immense needs of survivors.

Texas Flash Flooding

We are committed to providing urgent Texas flood relief and supporting the long road to recovery. Our Disaster Response Team is working closely with local clinics, organizations, and partner nonprofits in Texas to assess unmet health needs.

World Health Organization Certification

We are one of only four organizations in the United States to achieve the World Health Organization’s (WHO) certification as an Emergency Medical Team (EMT) Type 1 Mobile. To obtain this certification, we had to undergo rigorous evaluation by a panel of experts from the WHO to demonstrate our disaster response team’s ability to conduct assessment and triage, treatment, and provide medicine to 50 patients a day in austere settings in a fully self-sufficient manner.

When did the EMT Initiative begin?

The Emergency Medical Team initiative was created after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and propelled the publication of minimum standards for foreign medical teams in sudden onset disasters in 2013. Health services provided in emergency response should be safe, people-centered, timely, equitable, integrated and efficient. The goal is improved coordination mechanisms and health outcomes for beneficiary populations.

EMT Type 1 Mobile

HHI achieved its verification by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an EMT Type 1 Mobile in 2023. To be verified, a team must be operational in the field within 72 hours of a disaster, have a clinic which can be dismantled and moved daily, must be able to care for at least 50 patients per day for at least 14 days initially, including providing all necessary medications and supplies, and must be completely self-sufficient: food, power, potable water, and waste management. It also provides daylight-hours care for stabilization of acute trauma and nontrauma presentations, referrals for further investigation or inpatient care and community-based primary care with the ability to work in multiple locations over the deployment period.

History of Responding to Disasters

Even prior to full verification by the WHO, HHI has been sending Emergency Medical Teams around the United States and across the globe to provide medical assistance and aid after natural disasters and humanitarian crises for over a decade.

Get Involved

Volunteer for our Disaster Response Team

Make a Disaster Relief Donation

Partner with Us to Support Disaster Relief Programs

Capabilities

Medical Response Team

We maintain a highly trained roster of volunteer physicians, nurses, drivers, and logistics and administrative support professionals who make up our deployable Emergency Medical Team. Becoming part of this team requires thorough preparation, including a full background and license check, an interview process, and completion of a week-long virtual workshop. Volunteers also receive access to specialized focal point training sessions and ongoing development opportunities, ensuring they are fully equipped to respond effectively when disaster strikes.

Medical Aid Delivery

Donations of critically needed medicines and medical supplies are indispensable to our disaster response. These empower our disaster response team to mobilize rapidly, ensuring that vital emergency assistance and disaster relief supplies reach affected communities immediately. It also allows us to provide disaster assistance to areas of conflict and war when a volunteer medical team is not deployable.

Portable Container Clinics

Medical Care Where It’s Needed Most. Our retrofitted 20-foot shipping containers serve as robust, ready-to-deploy medical facilities in disaster areas. These portable clinics are crucial for providing medical relief efforts regardless of damaged local infrastructure, especially when existing clinics are down or hospitals are overwhelmed during a disaster response.
Clinic Specifications:

Built from sturdy steel, designed to withstand extreme weather.
Can be shipped globally and moved on-site by tow truck, crane, forklift, or helicopter.
Interior floor plans emphasize efficient workspace with strong walls for mounting medical equipment.
Well-insulated with heating and cooling for a temperature-controlled environment.
Materials meet or exceed EU and U.S. health code standards.
Flexible installation on foundation or blocks, connect to utilities or operate self-contained.
Exterior size is roughly equivalent to three parking spaces.

Medical Vehicle Fleet

To deliver effective emergency assistance and support community health events, we maintain a custom fleet deployed across the contiguous United States. This fleet is a core asset for our disaster response team in providing timely disaster relief.

Mobile Medical Unit (MMU): Our 45-foot MMU ensures accessible care with features like a wheelchair lift. It’s equipped with two treatment rooms, pharmacy, and counseling areas, facilitating efficient on-site medical exams and treatment during a disaster response.
Mobile Medical Van: This 2021 mobile clinic van serves individual patients and is crucial for reaching difficult areas inaccessible to the larger MMU. It can be deployed together with the MMU to broaden our reach for disaster assistance.
Disaster Response Trailer: A versatile 2019 unit, this trailer supports our emergency disaster relief efforts, usable for health services or administrative tasks. It boasts flexible power options, including solar and battery, for sustained operations.
Connect with our Disaster Response Team about the fleet: DRT@hearttoheart.org.

Warehouse

Due to our warehouse capacity, we can deploy our disaster response team rapidly with a fully stocked pharmacy to provide critical emergency assistance. We are a licensed pharmaceutical wholesaler with an 83,000-square-foot warehouse in Lenexa, KS. It also includes 320 square feet of walk-in cold chain storage. In 2024 alone, we shipped nearly $400 million of products to 30 countries and 34 U.S. States and Territories.

Our Hangar: Where Readiness Takes Flight

The effectiveness of our disaster response team relies heavily on our equipment capabilities. We maintain specialized gear and supplies necessary to support disaster relief operations and deliver critical emergency assistance quickly during times of crisis and disasters.

Emergency Disaster Management

Ready

Preparedness is the foundation of being ready. Our highly trained disaster response team ensures supplies are packed and logistics are planned, enabling swift emergency assistance and organized emergency disaster relief when a disaster strikes.

Respond

When disaster strikes, our disaster response team acts immediately to respond. We provide critical disaster relief and emergency assistance, bringing life-saving medical care and supplies directly to impacted communities as part of our emergency disaster relief efforts.

Recovery

Recovery requires ongoing support. Our disaster management approach includes providing extended disaster assistance and implementing disaster relief programs that help communities regain stability. Your disaster relief donations are vital for this sustained effort.

Testimonials

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Providing emergency assistance after Hurricane Helene brought us face-to-face with amazing people, including an 89-year-old retired nurse. She was injured but so incredibly grateful for the comfort and healing our disaster response team offered. Her remarkable resilience and joyful spirit left a lasting, inspiring impression on everyone involved in our disaster assistance.

A Nurse’s Resilience After Hurricane Helene

During our Hurricane Dorian disaster response, we encountered incredible resilience. Mimi and her dog, Beauregard, arrived at our clinic after their houseboat sank, having endured a harrowing escape. They didn’t just seek disaster assistance; they offered help. Mimi and Beauregard stayed with our disaster response team daily, dedicating their time to sorting incoming disaster relief donations of medicines and supplies. We were truly proud to have them alongside us as part of the HHI family during the disaster response.

Mimi’s Journey with HHI

Our disaster response team deployed mobile medical units following Hurricane Ian to offer vital emergency assistance. We treated many, including Teodoro Castillo, who was injured by a chainsaw during cleanup. He recounted the terrifying storm and his gratitude for his family’s safety, admitting he learned a hard lesson about riding out hurricanes. Teodoro’s story is just one example of the essential disaster relief our medical teams provide when communities are hurting.

Teodoro’s Path to Healing

Program Leader Profile

JP Fisher

Director of Disaster Response

JP leads our Disaster Response program, where he oversees emergency operations delivering vital medical aid, hygiene kits, and deployable medical teams to communities in crisis. With more than a decade of experience in humanitarian aid, he has led responses in over a dozen crisis-affected countries, including Türkiye, the Bahamas, Chad, Mozambique, and Bangladesh. Prior to joining HHI, JP served in field leadership roles with ShelterBox and Americares, where he coordinated disaster relief efforts across complex emergencies worldwide. He holds a Master of Science in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies from the London School of Economics, as well as dual bachelor’s degrees in Homeland Security/Emergency Management and Global Supply Chain Management from Eastern Kentucky University.

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