Matt Kraushar, dubbed “Medical Matt,” set up a Red Hook Sandy recovery medical team. He was a medical student living on Van Brunt Street when Sandy hit.  He learned from Katrina that medical issues that were managed under normal conditions could blow up into critical issues. He gathered volunteers who went up and down the floors of Red Hook’s huge NYCHA complex, knocking on doors to check in on people and send follow-up aid if needed. They expanded the effort to include people outside NYCHA.

News articles about his work include:

"Matthew 'Medical Matt' Kraushar comes to the rescue of stranded Red Hook residents after Hurricane Sandy paralyzes Brooklyn neighborhood," in the New York Daily News, November 17, 2022

"Med Student Sets Up Makeshift Clinic to Help Red Hook's Sandy Victims," in DNA INFO, November 9, 2012

PortSide invited Matt to speak at our youth resiliency education and community service event on March 17, 2022. He spoke to students from Germany where he now lives and works. 

As COVID hit, PortSide’s ED Carolina Salguero thought “this is a totally medical crisis this time, let’s see if Matt wants to reconnect.” She called him and asked if he wanted to help Red Hook again. He stepped up and got involved, working with the Red Hook Initiative (RHI). He also worked with senior City officials at Health & Hospitals about community covid response. He is an MD PhD and was in the last weeks of getting his MD when covid hit.

He has links to his Red Hook work on both Sandy and Covid on his website

More about his Red Hook Covid work:

Community Medical Response Effort: RED HOOK (pdf)

COVID-19 Effort in Red Hook: Information for medically-trained volunteers (pdf)

Community Covid Checkup - stats: number contacted, symptoms, medical access, 5/21/2020 (pdf)  

Here are some photos Matt saved from the time after Hurricane Sandy hit. Some are personal, some from the press.

Matthew Kraushar maintains some resources/info/history on his own website: matthewkraushar.com/red-hook