Volunteer Nurses Needed for Hurricane Emergency!

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Volunteer Nurses Needed for Hurricane Emergency!

We hope that you and your family have weathered the hurricane safely! Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.

Many have not been as lucky as we have. The LA-OEP (Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness) is requesting healthcare volunteers. This includes ALL levels of nursing expertise. If you and your family are safe, please volunteer - there is a tremendous need for nurses. Call 225-389-2100 and ask for "Medical". They are expecting your call. If the line is busy, please keep calling.

Please pass this on to anyone you think may be of help. Thank you!

LSNA

So... the Red Cross is to blame because they ask you to attend an orientation before sending you to a disaster area, and that they ask you to wait your turn with the other 1/2 million spontaneous volunteers? I see.........

While far from a perfect organization, the Red Cross has learned a few lessons in over a century of responding to disasters. #1: Do not send volunteers without an orientation to a disaster area. This will make the disaster worse.

#2: If you want to be a good steward of the donated dollar (and you do) then you don't pay to train, transport, house and feed a volunteer who can only stay a week. By the time you get there and figure out what it is you are doing, it's time to go home. There are obviously plenty of people who can give three weeks.

#3: This disaster will need volunteers for a long, long time, months to come. If you can't give 3 weeks now, maybe you can next month.

Also, please understand that disaster relief nursing is not usually ED/Trauma nursing (there are a few exceptions). It usually ranges from checking incoming shelter residents for lice to helping replace meds lost in the flood. If you want to do trauma care, join an NDMS team. But guess what, they also require you to join and drill BEFORE a disaster strikes.

Many of the folks rushing to volunteer now, also wanted to volunteer after Hurricane Andrew, The OKC Bombing, 9/11, The Tsunami, etc, etc.

Guess What!?! That was the time to get involved! The people who took the time ( a few days of classes) then to become trained volunteers are already deployed on this disaster. Don't blame the Red Cross because you waited till after you were needed to make yourself available.

WOW - That was quick. Sounds like a personal dig. But I've been flamed before... I have been involved with the Red Cross in many different capacities most of my adult life. Thay are a wonderful organization that does great things. I have no bone to pick with the Red Cross. AND - I haven't been recently involved as a volunteer (and therefore attended all the classes) because I'm deeply involved in my local community as a Paramedic and volunteer on Search & Rescue. All I'm saying is... If you're a NURSE, and you want to provide NURSING help in this disaster, the Red Cross may not be the best organization for whom to volunteer.

Thanks for the reply,

Eric

"Always Available - Just Drop The Tones"

So... the Red Cross is to blame because they ask you to attend an orientation before sending you to a disaster area, and that they ask you to wait your turn with the other 1/2 million spontaneous volunteers? I see.........

While far from a perfect organization, the Red Cross has learned a few lessons in over a century of responding to disasters. #1: Do not send volunteers without an orientation to a disaster area. This will make the disaster worse.

#2: If you want to be a good steward of the donated dollar (and you do) then you don't pay to train, transport, house and feed a volunteer who can only stay a week. By the time you get there and figure out what it is you are doing, it's time to go home. There are obviously plenty of people who can give three weeks.

#3: This disaster will need volunteers for a long, long time, months to come. If you can't give 3 weeks now, maybe you can next month.

Many of the folks rushing to volunteer now, also wanted to volunteer after Hurricane Andrew, The OKC Bombing, 9/11, The Tsunami, etc, etc.

Guess What!?! That was the time to get involved! The people who took the time ( a few days of classes) then to become trained volunteers are already deployed on this disaster. Don't blame the Red Cross because you waited till after you were needed to make yourself available.

WOW - That was quick. Sounds like a personal dig. But I've been flamed before... I have been involved with the Red Cross in many different capacities most of my adult life. Thay are a wonderful organization that does great things. I have no bone to pick with the Red Cross. AND - I haven't been recently involved as a volunteer (and therefore attended all the classes) because I'm deeply involved in my local community as a Paramedic and volunteer on Search & Rescue. All I'm saying is... If you're a NURSE, and you want to provide NURSING help in this disaster, the Red Cross may not be the best organization for whom to volunteer.

Thanks for the reply,

Eric

"Always Available - Just Drop The Tones"

Eric, not a dig at all, we posted at the same time, I didn't even see yours till mine came up. I'm just frustrated from years of post disaster "we're here to helps" Your post is right on target about nursing duties. Thanks for posting that link, It looks like that may be a great resource.

Eric, not a dig at all, we posted at the same time, I didn't even see yours till mine came up. I'm just frustrated from years of post disaster "we're here to helps" Your post is right on target about nursing duties. Thanks for posting that link, It looks like that may be a great resource.

Cool - Truce...

Stick a fork in me - I'm done :>)

"EMS - More Than Just A Ride To The Hospital"

Eric ZZZZzzzzz

That's a fantastic idea! Is there some way of organizing this?

I just finished reading another thread, and Biloxi Regional Medical Center took a big hit but is still up and running. I'm sure they are just one of many. I know that hospitals in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, LA are taking care of many of those that came from New Orleans. I don't know the names of any of the hospitals in MS or around NO that have been affected. I know Mobile, AL also had a bit of damage, so any of those hospitals would probably also be affected.

In terms of organizing this, you could do it hospital wide, or maybe just within your unit. Pick a sister unit at any one of these hospitals and find out their address and ask your staff to contribute, then just send it off. Like I said earlier, it meant alot to know that others were thinking about us and the little things count for a lot in a time like this.

To Whoever Needs Help Out There,

I am looking for someone who can give me some names and numbers of people or places who are in need of help. I am a former Firefighter with search and rescue experience and currently an ER Nurse. I have just returned home to Arizona from 3 months in Thailland and am currently on a leave of abscence from work. I have the capability and desire to do some real work for a minimum of a few weeks until order can be restored. I just need to know who to contact and where to go. Please email me back with any info you have.

Terrain

Volunteer Nurses Needed for Hurricane Emergency!

We hope that you and your family have weathered the hurricane safely! Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.

Many have not been as lucky as we have. The LA-OEP (Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness) is requesting healthcare volunteers. This includes ALL levels of nursing expertise. If you and your family are safe, please volunteer - there is a tremendous need for nurses. Call 225-389-2100 and ask for "Medical". They are expecting your call. If the line is busy, please keep calling.

Please pass this on to anyone you think may be of help. Thank you!

LSNA

In order to avoid overwhelming the Louisiana state board of nursing and Louisiana State Nurses Ass. please contact YOUR state associations, hopefully they are in touch with Louisiana's people.

The outpouring of help from others is so comforting. Thank everyone who has offered to help us. As nurses, we want to help immediately, and it is VERY frustrating when we can not.

I think we all realize that the Red Cross does wonderful work, However my local chapter is Michigan has been nothing but, basically rude. I was told I that even though I am a nurse I would be included in with the other volunteers. Don't get me wrong I am not asking for special treatment, but I feel the nurse volunteers need to be grouped and trained spearately, as we will have many unique responsibilities other volunteers will not have. I also feel there should have been a fast track orientation (like on the trip down) in order to get nurses in place. In this case the Red Cross appears to be dropping the ball. :mad: :mad:

WOW - That was quick. Sounds like a personal dig. But I've been flamed before... I have been involved with the Red Cross in many different capacities most of my adult life. Thay are a wonderful organization that does great things. I have no bone to pick with the Red Cross. AND - I haven't been recently involved as a volunteer (and therefore attended all the classes) because I'm deeply involved in my local community as a Paramedic and volunteer on Search & Rescue. All I'm saying is... If you're a NURSE, and you want to provide NURSING help in this disaster, the Red Cross may not be the best organization for whom to volunteer.

Thanks for the reply,

Eric

"Always Available - Just Drop The Tones"

Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
I think we all realize that the Red Cross does wonderful work, However my local chapter is Michigan has been nothing but, basically rude. I was told I that even though I am a nurse I would be included in with the other volunteers. Don't get me wrong I am not asking for special treatment, but I feel the nurse volunteers need to be grouped and trained spearately, as we will have many unique responsibilities other volunteers will not have. I also feel there should have been a fast track orientation (like on the trip down) in order to get nurses in place. In this case the Red Cross appears to be dropping the ball. :mad: :mad:

And why would that be???????

You ARE asking for special treatment. ALL volunteers need to complete certain basic training, including healthcare personnel. And just because you hold the title, "Nurse" does not mean that you have any idea how it is to function as part of the Red Cross team. And we all know nurses that we wonder how that survived nursing school much less Boards, and we all have worked with those that do not deal well with pressure or behave tactfully in a crisis.

Also, just because you are nursing does not mean that the Red Cross needs you in that capacity. You my find yourself doing some things that may feel are "beneath" your capacity as a nurse and be expected to do them, with a smile on your face.

And why do people not seek out this training BEFORE the crisis....which would make sense? If those in your local office are a bit terse, it is because there have been plenty of opportunities to train since the last Hurricane season....with plenty of time to assess whether you are able to do the tasks that you are assigned to. Especially, when they would have had plenty of staff to do the job right instead of rushed though due to personnel being stretched thin. Why do people rush in at the last minute, thinking that they can do training in a pinch and function as required? That is rude, also.

The vast majority of red cross volunteers have jobs, family and lives that are important to them. Their time is valuable and their skills ALL contribute to the success of the project. Therefore, they all need to attend much of the same training so that they are all working "from the same page". Some of these volunteers have companies that they run and have 6 figure incomes, and they still take training.

If volunteering is that important to you, take the time to do the right thing and get trained the right way.

Specializes in ICU, ER, HH, NICU, now FNP.

According to an email I received from TNA - and I am sure this applies to other agencies as well...The reason they have not deployed more med teams is because there is nowhere to house them safely!

More people in the area means more people to feed and water and house and protect, and right now it is all they can do to feed, water, house and protect those who are already there. It's already a logistical nightmare, adding more people without clear places to keep and utilize them is not a help - it is a burden. Makes sense to me!

Be patient - this is an ongoing process, we will be dealing with the aftermath for years. People will still need nurses for this - this week, this month and for weeks and months to come. I know we are all chomping at the bit to get going but if we can't protect ourselves first, we are no good to those who need us.

This is the e-mail i received:

Thank you for your offer of help to the Louisiana people in our time of crisis. I'm sorry this is not a personal email, but we are receiving many communications at this time.

Here are the current contact numbers for LA Dept.of Health and Hospital for assignment to aid in disaster relief: 225-763-5770 and 225-763-5740. You may have to keep trying to call, because phone service is sporadic right now. You may also contact them at [email protected] (the first letter is a lower-case "L"),

There is currently no lodging available. You may be sleeping in a shelter with evacuees. Please bring a sleeping bag and anything else you think you may need.

Bring your current RN license from your home state and a picture ID.

This is a difficult time for us, and we sincerely appreciate your willingness to help. Thank you again for your generosity in volunteering!

Louisiana State Nurses Association

Hello,

I have been searching to a contact so that I can come to the Gulf and help. I am an LPN in AZ. I have been licensed since 1989 and I am IV Certified. I have years of experience working with the medicare/medicaid population. I am experienced in immunizations, pediatrics, minor surgery, family practice and internal medicine and cardiology. I also hold a Bachelor's in Business. I have very strong organization, communication and computer skills. I would gladly come even if it were to hold someone's hand and offer a kind word. I just feel an intense need to be there for you folks.

I lived in Metaire in the mid l970's. I am familiar with the area. Please let me know what I can do to help. I would really consider it an honor to come back to LA and help.

Annette LPN

We hope that you and your family have weathered the hurricane safely! Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.

Many have not been as lucky as we have. The LA-OEP (Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness) is requesting healthcare volunteers. This includes ALL levels of nursing expertise. If you and your family are safe, please volunteer - there is a tremendous need for nurses. Call 225-389-2100 and ask for "Medical". They are expecting your call. If the line is busy, please keep calling.

Please pass this on to anyone you think may be of help. Thank you!

LSNA

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