REBUILD- LINDA HIGGINS

Dear Otolaryngology Family & Friends-

Natural disasters are very hard to plan for, and can happen to anyone without prior warning. As you all know on September 2 a severe storm caused by the remnants of hurricane Ida that struck New Orleans days earlier, rolled through New York and New Jersey . While many of us in the department had sustained some damage, one of our team, Linda Higgins, was significantly and seriously affected. As the storm hit, water in her basement quickly rose to knee level. Thankfully she made it out safely just in time, and was able to make it to a friend’s home to spend the night. Unfortunately, upon returning to her home the following morning, the house was literally collapsing on itself as the foundation buckled. The fire department arrived and “condemned” her home of many years due to structural and foundation damage. Almost all of her furnishings are not salvageable.

Since she resides in a ‘no flood’ zone, there was no reason to have flood insurance. In fact this was something she inquired about when she purchased the home, and was told it was not needed by her insurer! Sadly and predictably, her claim to her insurer was denied due to lack flood insurance. Linda is now displaced into a hotel, and overwhelmed with decisions about rebuilding (or even whether to rebuild), and how to move forward with limited resources and no insurance backing.

As a family we are hoping to support Linda through this tragedy. She has given so much to our department, and now it is our turn to give back to her in her greatest hour of need. Your support is crucial. Please help Linda by contributing - any amount would be sincerely appreciated.

Thank you so much