A Medical Homecoming: Atlanta Doctor Helps Storm-Ravaged Puerto Rico

Emory physician Dr. Carla Haack grew up in Puerto Rico. She went to college and medical school there. And after Hurricane Maria struck the Caribbean island in September 2017, she knew she had to help the people back home.

Courtesy of Emory University / GHN

When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017, Emory physician Dr. Carla Haack had no way of knowing whether her parents were alive or dead.

Their home was in Cidra, a town in the central part of the island, where phone service was knocked out and roads were blocked by fallen trees and other debris.

A few days after the monster storm made landfall, Haack saw a photo from that town and how a concrete pole “was snapped in two like a twig. Then I freaked out.’’ Her parents’ home was made of concrete.