just a disclaimer: this was not written by me, it was forwarded to me by my husband. it made me think and i thought the people of all nurses would also be interested in reading this - especially those planning to volunteer in shelters (not to say that you shouldn't). this letter is being sent to the ny times as well as bill o'reilly. mods, if this would be better in another forum, my apologies.
i am a nurse who has just completed volunteer working approximately 120 hours as the clinic director in a hurricane gustav evacuation shelter in shreveport, louisiana over the last 7 days. i would love to see someone look at the evacuee situation from a new perspective. local and national news channels have covered the evacuation and "horrible" conditions the evacuees had to endure during hurricane gustav.
true - some things were not optimal for the evacuation and the shelters need some modification. at any point, does anyone address the responsibility (or irresponsibility) of the evacuees?
does it seem wrong that one would remember their cell phone, charger, cigarettes and lighter but forget their child's insulin?
is something amiss when an evacuee gets off the bus, walks immediately to the medical area, and requests immediate free refills on all medicines for which they cannot provide a prescription or current bottle (most of which are narcotics)?
isn't the system flawed when an evacuee says they cannot afford a $3 copay for a refill that will be delivered to them in the shelter yet they can take a city-provided bus to wal-mart, buy 5 bottles of vodka, and return to consume them secretly in the shelter?
is it fair to stop performing luggage checks on incoming evacuees so as not to delay the registration process but endanger the volunteer staff and other persons with the very realistic truth of drugs, alcohol and weapons being brought into the shelter?
am i less than compassionate when it frustrates me to scrub emesis from the floor near a nauseated child while his mother lies nearby, watching me work 26 hours straight, not even raising her head from the pillow to comfort her own son?
why does it insense me to hear a man say "i ain't goin' home 'til i get my fema check" when i would love to just go home and see my daughters who i have only seen 3 times this week?
is the system flawed when the privately insured patient must find a way to get to the pharmacy, fill his prescription and pay his copay while the fema declaration allows the uninsured person to acquire free medications under the disaster rules?
does it seem odd that the nurse volunteering at the shelter is paying for childcare while the evacuee sits on a cot during the day as the shelter provides a "daycare"?
have government entitlements created this mentality and am i facilitating it with my work?
will i be a bad person, merciless nurse or poor christian if i hesitate to work at the next shelter because i have worked for 7 days being called every curse word imaginable, feeling threatened and fearing for my personal safety in the shelter?
Volunteering with FEMA after Katrina and Rita- it was almost a complete debacle.
FEMA officials informed us that volunteer nursing staff had "enabled" many evacuees, and wow were they right. Evacuees didn't want to leave the shelter. Shelter officials had to threaten them with arrest if they didn't leave.
Many evacuees felt they had it made- nurses waiting on them hand and foot-all the attention they could ever want, feeding on the disaster. Free donated clothes were sent out daily to be dry cleaned-paid for by FEMA. Some people tend to be very dependent. Independent evacuees promptly took the first offer of FEMA funded apartments, many refused apartments because it "wasn't what they were looking for".
"I am from St. Bernard Parish, and that is where I am going to live- find me a place there or keep this shelter open". When explained to them that the Parish was gone- no apartments- they said "we will wait here until something comes open".
Personally, I will never volunteer again unless I have my own transportation, and can go home when things get crazy.
Why is a medical history essential in a shelter? Unless it is a special needs shelter-
Wanted to let you know that my wife was the nurse who wrote and experienced each situation. She has been an ICU/CCU nurse for 17 years. She went to Indonesia after the Tsunami and worked in the shelters in Shreveport during Katrina and Rita for about 7 weeks. She too was concerned about causing volunteers to hesitate or not to volunteer when disasters happen however after consulting with the local head of the medical Red Cross and receiving his approval of the letter, she sent it to the Shreveport Times and Bill O'Reilly. I helped at the shelters, as did my 14 and 12 year old daughters (early in the week before things got crazy), brother-in-law, brother-in-law's sister and his mother, and my neice, along with a number of volunteers from various local hospitals and community centers. The evacuees accused the volunteers of doing something to cause people to have seizures, only later to find out that the man had consumed quite a bit of alcohol that night at the shelter. One mother nearly refused to allow her child to be given zofran (not sure of the spelling since I am not medical) because she heard that the medicine the volunteers were giving people were killing them. It was reported that 8 people had died at the shelter by the local newspaper. One person did die, however she did not die at the shelter. She was 88 years old and had advanced cancer. When she was removed from the bus, my wife immediately had her transferred to a local hsopital where she passed away a short time later. I know the events my wife wrote about may seem improbable however they are the truth. As I write this she is currently at the Sam's Club Shelter in Shreveport helping Hurrincane Ike evacuees. This is after she worked a 12 yesterday and today and is supposed to teach an ACLS class on Friday AM.
I have one thing to say about the bad conditions that you experienced. "Louisiana" Enough said!!!
Louisiana? Does that mean that what this person experienced could not possibly happen in any other place ,but Louisana? I guess I might be ignorant, but why would that be true.
Fear, panic can bring out the best or worst in people no matter it happens.
I have one thing to say about the bad conditions that you experienced. "Louisiana" Enough said!!!
How horribly inappropriate and immature of you! I hope to God you were trying to make a funny statement.
Now that we know this letter is true, we should be thanking volunteers like this woman (and her family), not berating where people live. She has every last right to air her concerns about the deplorable conditions; however, she still continues to share her experience and spirit of volunteerism with those who need her service. I don't see it as complaining, I see it as concern. Unfortunately, those who need to read this letter will never see it. Those who act in ways mentioned in the letter will never see the error of their ways either.
It's not just the state of Louisiana, it's our entire country. "The customer is always right" has gone way beyond acceptable limits. People with a sense of entitlement feel like they should be treated like kings and queens at hospitals and shelters alike. How many threads do we see here on All Nurses talking about similar situations (to this letter) in their hospitals, nursing homes, LTC facilities, etc?
Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
Yes, the nurse is real (now we know), and her feelings regarding her experiences should be validated. Thank goodness for people like her, who continue to fight the good fight. I don't get the comment about LA, either.
if it's merely racial propaganda meant to spark hatred, what more can i say than it disgusts me that someone could be so mean.
sorry if ya'll are offended, but i personally experienced this in orlando, fl in the late 90's. when did it become racial to state the obvious--that some people (of all colors and creeds) care more about their cigarettes, booze, and "rights" than about their children's welfare? if any currrently practicing licensed nurse in the usa hasn't seen this up close and personal, i'd love to know where you are living and working...
This letter sounds like a typical day of patients in any ER in Amercia. For far too long the safety net has become a nice hammock for people to take advantage of. I really laugh when nurses on here are shocked by this type of behavior. Bring on UHC this will only exponentially get worse.
because it gives people a reason to exscuse the bad behavior.
sorry if ya'll are offended, but i personally experienced this in orlando, fl in the late 90's. when did it become racial to state the obvious--that some people (of all colors and creeds) care more about their cigarettes, booze, and "rights" than about their children's welfare? if any currrently practicing licensed nurse in the usa hasn't seen this up close and personal, i'd love to know where you are living and working...
Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
Um, it became 'racial' during Katrina, when there were all kinds of racially motivated emails floating around. You can do a search on Snopes for some of them. I don't have time.
And no one has expressed 'shock' at this behavior.
Stepping down off soap box...
mscsrjhm
646 Posts
Volunteering with FEMA after Katrina and Rita- it was almost a complete debacle.
FEMA officials informed us that volunteer nursing staff had "enabled" many evacuees, and wow were they right. Evacuees didn't want to leave the shelter. Shelter officials had to threaten them with arrest if they didn't leave.
Many evacuees felt they had it made- nurses waiting on them hand and foot-all the attention they could ever want, feeding on the disaster. Free donated clothes were sent out daily to be dry cleaned-paid for by FEMA. Some people tend to be very dependent. Independent evacuees promptly took the first offer of FEMA funded apartments, many refused apartments because it "wasn't what they were looking for".
"I am from St. Bernard Parish, and that is where I am going to live- find me a place there or keep this shelter open". When explained to them that the Parish was gone- no apartments- they said "we will wait here until something comes open".
Personally, I will never volunteer again unless I have my own transportation, and can go home when things get crazy.
Why is a medical history essential in a shelter? Unless it is a special needs shelter-