Puerto Rico has lost almost four dozen lives to Hurricane Maria, The priority is to re-establish the hospitals, rapidly.

  Puerto Rico has lost almost four dozen lives to Hurricane Maria, there is estimated to be more, linked to the deadly storm. One half of the population depends on Medicare for their health care, it is not funded in Puerto Rico as it is in the mainland. The United States Territory receives a fixed amount from our Federal Government, and it's set to run out as early as next month. The island experienced "The perfect storm" as related to disasters, Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria, the island was flattened, twice.

When damage is this extreme, everything else in the society
is impacted, it looks like a good reason to go solar for the entire
island. 

  The priority is to re-establish electricity to the hospitals, some are on emergency generators, and nearly all of the hospitals are now open as of October 12, 2017. Electricity has been re-established to just over 1/2 of the medical centers, almost all of the dialysis providers are open and operating, many patients have missed treatment due to a vast array of reasons. Infections and illnesses from contaminated water are on the rise, Pink eye, Diarrhea, rashes and gastrointestinal problems are among them, appearing in substantial numbers throughout the island. This is a situation that will continue on, in a moist warm tropical environment acting as if it is a petri dish in a biology lab, but on a much larger scale. Some residents still struggle to get transportation to clinics for chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Diagnostic tools and equipment remain in short supply since the storm destroyed the island. The people suffered mental trauma that is sure to linger on long after the recovery is complete. The World Health Organization has a fact sheet pertaining to diseases that may be caused by flood water. Link
  My grandfather was born and raised on a wheat farm in North Dakota, born in 1882 he passed away in 1969. When he was young, not yet a teenager, a tornado came through, because it was an isolated area not a lot of damage to structures was suffered. However his father was killed in the storm, my grandfather found his badly mangled body in a horse trough. My grandfather was a big man, and strong, but when even a small storm would start he would tremble like a leaf, we would call it "post-traumatic stress" today. We referred to it as "poor grandpa," His mental distress over the storm lasted until the day he died, the people in Puerto Rico I am afraid to say may have to endure the same mental trauma.
  The legislation is currently in Congress (stalled), requesting an additional $1billion in funding for Puerto Rico's Medicaid program and the Children's Health Insurance Program. (For an explanation of how the Program works here's a Link) If funding is lost, as many as 900,000 patients may lose funding for their health care as estimated by the Department of Health and Human Services. The legislation is also pending for disaster relief in the millions of dollars, it has a lot of support in the form of 6 out of 10 mainlanders agree the U.S. territory is not getting enough support. (I will not comment on the political side of this, as is usual for us, it's screwed up, enough is being said about it anyway).
  One issue that the storms brought upon us is the reality of the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, natural disasters have a way of bringing long ignored situations to the surface. An immediate need for grants for disaster relief is needed, as well as the continued sustained support from the Fed's to ensure the people that we will remain faithful to our responsibility to all of the American's living there. If support is not maintained significantly, hundreds of thousands of citizens will leave the island and never return, causing a possible shift in politics and new costs to the Federal Government. Many of the people may relocate to Florida, New York, and the other Southeastern States. There has already been a "brain drain" of educated people such as Doctors,

Nurses are the answer people, when I need a medical opinion I ask a Nurse First, Doctors are fine
however, Nurses have the practical answers I need.

Nurses, and Lawyers, now the challenge will be to encourage the rest to stay, it's hard to estimate how many will. Puerto Rico has over the past decade accumulated over $70 billion in debt, it is equal to its yearly economic output, the island has been in a recession since 2006. Indeed 150,000 people (estimate) have left the island in the search for prosperity elsewhere, mostly the mainland. Yes, Puerto Ricans have the same opportunities in this country as every other citizen, with a strong U.S. economy, the employment prospects are tempting to the sufferers of a decade-long recession. A 21% drop in the Capita GDP is estimated as a direct result of the storm's devastation.
  I have to wonder what will happen to the recovery if hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans leave the island never to return, will there be enough people to make progress. As I am writing this, all of the 1300 public schools remain closed, no estimate for re-opening. It will impose a heavier load on the people that choose to remain, is there an opportunity there as well? What kind of opportunity could there possibly be in a situation such as this, certainly in the construction business. I'm thinking more in terms of the highly skilled craftsmen, (Link, for an explanation of what a skilled craftsperson is) plumbers, carpenters, and ironworkers, for example, striking out on their own forming new companies out of necessity. There may be a vacuum created at the top, I suspect most of the people that leave are the more affluent, leaving their company's and stores behind deciding not to rebuild. In the same vein, a startup company demands different things of the people establishing them. It may be a good opportunity for female-owned enterprises, as well as minority businesses. Perhaps solar will take off and it will launch Puerto Rico into the future beyond where the mainland is now and where the island was, there will be opportunities for sure in the electrical production and distribution industries. Plumbing, always a top demand, extensive repairs are needed, plumbers are needed, it's a job not everyone wants to do.

It's too bad but money is the driving
factor in the recovery.

  The one thing that may hold back the recovery, (and it may be happening now) is the lack of funding, but is it a matter of getting started and the economy will catch up? I'm not sure, one thing is for sure, payroll must be met. I don't imagine anyone going without a paycheck for a month or so to help the recovery, they have to eat as well, however, maybe a new reality will open up. If all of the needs of the employees and their families are satisfied for a short time, just long enough for the money to start flowing, it may work. There is a huge industry just in vehicle needs and repairs, every trade and business has to be re-established and quickly.
  I intended to write this as an uplifting motivational article, but with the immense human suffering and the massive work to be done, that light at the end of the tunnel most definitely is not a train but it may be a lot further away than what we may think.
  Thank you for reading and sharing, if you have any thoughts or comments please do comment. I'm working on more videos, I like the humor aspect of the whole thing, even though my niche is mostly serious, and in this day and time humor is hard to find. I like making fun of myself, I think it's funny, do you think we lost a little of the ability to laugh at ourselves? I do, I want people to laugh again, and make jokes on ourselves, I feel we are way too serious in serious times, there is room for it.
 jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com