Hurricane Helene – A Grass-Roots Emergency Response

14 October 202423 February 2026 ~ MD Harris Institute ~ Leave a comment

Bringing supplies and equipment to help others in a disaster? Learn how to have the biggest and best possible impact with limited resources.

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

Hurricane Helene caused historic damage to an unlikely location, the hills and mountains of western North Carolina. The flooding and winds surprised many, since hurricanes usually afflict those on the coasts. Not expecting disaster, many inland residents did not prepare. They suffered. Over 230 people are known to be dead, and the estimated damage is over $30 billion.

Our Situation

Churches in the Mountain State Baptist Association (MSBA) learned of the tragedy not only through the media, which can be deceitful, but also through stories from people on the ground. The suffering was real, but just showing up to a devastated area with a trunk (or a tractor-trailer) full of unsolicited stuff is no way to help. The responders may or may not be useful to the victims but will definitely need water, food, fuel, and shelter, which are already in short supply. As good-hearted as it may be to respond, doing so without coordinating with those on the ground can be worse than useless.

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How to identify drug activity in your neighborhood

3 September 202423 February 2026 ~ MD Harris Institute ~ Leave a comment

Drug use and abuse is a growing problem in America and worldwide. Governments using organizations such as the police are not enough to protect people. Each individual, family, and community must take responsibility for their own security. The first step is education – learning how to protect ourselves and others from drug-related problems.

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

Drug use and abuse grow ever more deadly across the nation and the world. Tsunamis of opioids, marijuana, cocaine, stimulants, and a host of others flood borders in the US and Europe, carried by an international class of drug mule who will stop at nothing to make money, grow in power, and get a fix. Despite billions of dollars invested in prevention, education, treatment, and law enforcement, drug use disorders and environmental harms are getting worse.[1] Mafias, hostile governments, geopolitics, and corruption come together to keep people enslaved to these substances. For example, the Chinese mafia controls much of the marijuana trade in the US while the Chinese government, always hoping to weaken America, lends a hand.[2] In one example, Oakland police officer Samson Liu owned a house that police raided and found eighty pounds of illegal marijuana.[3]

Most people do not have a drug problem, but we are all still impacted by those that do. Our neighborhoods can become unsafe. What can individuals do to protect themselves from drugs and its consequences, specifically in the places we live? Identifying drug activity in your neighborhood can be challenging, as those involved often try to keep their activities hidden. However, there are various indicators of drug-related activities. Remember that some of these signs could have innocent explanations, so it’s important not to jump to conclusions based on limited information. Report your concerns to local law enforcement rather than investigating yourself.

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Church Security – Getting Started

9 August 202423 February 2026 ~ MD Harris Institute ~ Leave a comment

The news is largely tales of disorder and disaster leading to feelings of discouragement and detachment. Troubles from active shooters to natural disasters beset the houses of God. Guided by their leaders, churches are responsible for safeguarding their congregations and visitors from harm. This article teaches why church security is important, how to assess security risk, and the basics of a comprehensive plan.

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

While the need for enhanced security in churches may seem like a modern concern, protecting places of worship has been a consideration throughout history. Christians and their churches were attacked and destroyed both by mobs and by the government in ancient Rome, from Nero (AD 37-68) to Diocletian (AD 242-312). Eastern and Western Christians sometimes damaged each other’s churches and persecuted people, as in the Byzantine centuries. The most notorious example in the Middle Ages is the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem by the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in 1009.

Attacks on Christians and churches continued into the modern era. Muslim powers continued to persecute Christians. Ottomans butchered Christians and leveled churches in the early 20^th century. The Nazis, Soviets, and Chinese Communists killed and imprisoned millions of Christians and eliminated churches in the 20^th century. These threats were governmental and institutional, but destruction also came from the hands of hateful mobs.

The nature and scale of threats have grown, particularly in recent decades. Governmental attacks on Christians have been replaced in many places by smaller-scale attacks mounted by one or a few people. The number of these attacks has increased in the past century.

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Gunshot Wounds

9 January 202423 February 2026 ~ MD Harris Institute ~ Leave a comment

Police officers, fire fighters, and other first responders encounter more and more gunshot wounds. Knowing how to diagnose and treat such wounds, at least until delivering the victims to definitive care, is critical.

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

The Second Amendment, communicating the right to bear arms, is sacrosanct in American culture. Patriots for centuries have seen it as a defense against tyranny. Americans have a larger number of guns per capita than most other developed nations. However important having all those guns is in neutralizing bad guys, the ubiquity of firearms in the US results in larger numbers of suicides, accidental gunshot wounds, and homicides.

History

Treatment prior to the 1880s involved the doctor sticking his fingers into the wound to try to grab and remove the projectile. US President James Garfield (1831-1881) died in September 1881 after being shot in July 1881. He probably would have survived the wound had doctors not repeatedly probed the wound with dirty fingers and dirty instruments.

Providentially, in July 1881, George E. Goodfellow (1855-1910) performed the first successful open abdominal surgery for a gunshot wound in Tombstone AZ. He used sterile technique and his patient recovered. Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) invented the Induction Balance which found bullets in Civil War soldiers. Radiographs followed as an even better way to find projectiles and other foreign bodies through skin.

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Southern Baptist Disaster Relief

30 July 202323 February 2026 ~ MD Harris Institute ~ Leave a comment

Natural disasters can devastate a community and even a region. Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) employs hundreds of volunteers around the country to meet peoples’ needs after disaster, and to introduce them to Jesus Christ.

By Mark Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

The state of Vermont endured historic flooding in July 2023, the worst since Tropical Storm Irene hit the landlocked state in 2011. Rivers overflowed, with the Winooski in Montpelier cresting at 21.02 feet, the highest since 1927.[1] Two people died, including one hiker on the Appalachian Trial.[2] Local police, fire, and emergency medical services responded, as did the National Guard from Vermont and the surrounding states. The American Red Cross arrived to provide shelter and other services.

Other groups came to Vermont to help, but with much less fanfare, including the Samaritan’s Purse, Salvation Army, and Billy Graham’s chaplains. Southern Baptist Disaster Relief sent hundreds of volunteer responders to help flood victims recover. I joined the West Virginia team in Barre VT, from 23 to 29 July. Led by Ron W and supported by Roy P. (SBDR’s incident commander), our group of eight tackled recovery jobs throughout the region.

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Fire and Rescue Training

6 October 202023 February 2026 ~ MD Harris Institute ~ Leave a comment

Tough fire and rescue training produces more skilled fire and rescue personnel and safer communities.

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

Work has pulled me to the DC area during the week and home has pulled me to West Virginia on weekends and holidays. One of my tasks around DC is to provide medical support for a group of rescuers specially trained in structural collapse, confined space, trench, and ropes. Simultaneously, I remain on the Beaver Volunteer Fire Department and dive team. It is the best of all worlds.

My primary field is medicine, and while I have helped pull victims from fires and entrapments, my primary usefulness comes once the patient is out. I admire people who risk themselves to rescue people and keep them alive until they get to people like me. Such work requires imagination, skill, intelligence, and courage, which was demonstrated at an exercise in northern Virginia in September of 2020.

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