Some North Carolina nursing homes still dont have water weeks after Hurricane Helene: Unable to shower or wash hands

Some North Carolina nursing homes remain without running water weeks after Hurricane Helene — leaving elderly residents unable to shower, wash their hands or flush the toilet without a bucket.The situation presents unique serious problems for the senior facilities — especially given clients’ age, illnesses and weakened immune systems and the fact that disease and infection can spread rapidly from resident to resident under the circumstances.“For two weeks, we’ve been unable to shower or wash hands,” James Greene, an 84-year-old resident at an Asheville nursing home, wrote in a letter to his family that was shared with ABC News.

“Maintaining hygiene with hand sanitizers is a constant must,” the elderly man said.“Another example is having to pour a bucket of water [provided by agencies] into the tank of the toilet in order to flush.And keep in mind that our residents are old and not used to such physical activity.”The Brooks-Howell Home, the sprawling retirement community where Greene resides, is not the only spot facing such difficulties — mostly because floodwaters are known to contaminate otherwise clean local water sources with dangerous germs, chemicals and waste from both people and livestock, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Other sites have water — but it is not drinkable without boiling.On Oct.

16, the Asheville Water Department issued its boil-water notice because of possible “contamination due to impacts from Hurricane Helene, including the potential for untreated water in the distribution system,” ABC said.The notice is still in effect days later.

And the leaders of several area senior homes told the station they don’t see that ending anytime soon.As for the six North Carolina retirement facilities run by Ascent Healthcare Management, three including Greene’s still don’t have even any running water, according to Kimberly Smith, the firm’s vice president of operations.The others that...