Giving Compass' Take:

• In discussing the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, Fortune explains how charity is often mistaken for compassion and why we need to mobilize more efforts to address the underlying weaknesses in public health.

• Basically, this is a call for systems change and sustained philanthropic action. It also goes beyond immediate disaster relief, making measurable impact an imperative — with compassion as the primary driver.

• Read more about charity, disaster relief, and our collective humanity.

Hurricane Michael struck the Florida panhandle and parts of Virginia, killing at least 16 people and leaving behind a trail of devastation. In the wake of the storm, Americans have done what they always do after large-scale traumatic events — they have mobilized their resources to help the victims, donating money, blood, food, and time, to aid recovery efforts.

Such charity is a fairly common American response to witnessing the need of others, one that is widely shared. In the corporate world, for instance, we often see high-profile examples of charity, where the powerful use their resources to assist those who lack wealth and influence — from Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million donation to help New Jersey schools, to the Giving Pledge, a commitment by the world’s wealthiest people, including the late Paul Allen, to use their money for philanthropy. And setting aside those who have great wealth, most of the rest of us also feel the urge to do good, and will give generously to improve life for the people we encounter.

Our embrace of charity is admirable, yet in many ways it also limits us. Too often, charity lets us feel like we are making a difference, while keeping in place the social structures that produce poor health. I may go so far as to say that it is our generous embrace of charity that has held us back, as a country, from tackling some of the foundational drivers of health that result in us having a far less healthy country than we should have.

Read the full article about what we learned from Hurricane Michael by Sandro Galea at Fortune.