Are you prepared for Avian Flu?

[Gizzey]

For Avian Flu' ?

I mean as nurses, not individuals!

I am on the Major incident team for my hospital, meetings are now twice monthly not twice yearly.

I live in Northern Ireland so because of the political situation, we always have to be prepared.

As nurses have you been told treatment procedures, triage procedures. If there is a pandemic.

[indigo girl]

The GPs and community nurses know they are first responders and their role and treatment protocol BUT they are worried about what they are going to face, what is truely expected of them, are they mentally ready to face this level of death and disease ALONE..Inevitably they will be making housecalls alone..It is a scary, scary time..Especially for those in the dark..

Nursing should be involved in the planning, no-one knows how nurses will react or cope with certain situations but nurses. Nurses should have a say in guidelines regarding their own operations.

I did not know about this. Of course, visiting nurses have always gone into homes alone (I have done this), but we are talking about something quite unusual here. I wonder how anyone doing home health currently would feel about this. This type of nursing really isolates nurses, and couple that with what they will be seeing and experiencing alone... We will all be under enormous stress, and I see a real need for some supportive networks to get us thru this.

[indigo girl]

Thank you, CRFULLMOON at curevents.com for providing the link to this comprehensive government plan as there is some real detail here:

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/69241.pdf

[Gizzey]

I worked last nite, and my body wants to sleep! I am going to think about all of this over the weekend and consider a few things.

Just saw this now..Kids were off school today (Holy day) and very demanding to put it politely..I was speed reading and typing..

I hope you got some sleep..I see you posted after this post. Sleep is very important, more important than these forums..Though I know how easy it is to get caught up..:)

[Gizzey]

This was just posted at Flutrackers (thanks, Florida 1, you're the best!), and I think it is germane to the discussion especially as I see that NURSES are involved in this:

Providing Mass Medical Care with Scarce Resources:

A Community Planning Guide

http://www.ahrq.gov/research/mce/mceguide.pdf

This is very similar to the reports I linked you too..It is excellant.

[Gizzey]

I did not know about this. Of course, visiting nurses have always gone into homes alone (I have done this), but we are talking about something quite unusual here. I wonder how anyone doing home health currently would feel about this. This type of nursing really isolates nurses, and couple that with what they will be seeing and experiencing alone... We will all be under enormous stress, and I see a real need for some supportive networks to get us thru this.

I agree but as you say, visiting nurses are going to experience something alot different now..

We have different areas of community nurses, Health visitors --they usually are triple trained, they have their general nursing, midwifery and either psych or paeds..They look after babes from they are 10 days old until they are school age (4 years)--1st response will come as a huge shock..They deal with babies/toddlers, post natal depression, post parteum problems.

District nurses--look after generally elderly but adults/kids after surgery. Fair enough..They also liaise with Hosps so may have more personal preps..

School nurses--Usually dual trained..So paeds and general..Sometimes Psych. Nice safe school environment..Huge shock.

The Marie Curie nurses or Macmillian nurses are the best prepared..They look after end stage oncology patients in their own home. Those that chose to die at home.

These are the basics but there are different specialities within a speciality..Breast and stoma care, urology, dialysis, they are all community nurses who become 1st responders..!

I really and truely hope there is counselling, debriefing during, never mind after a pandemic..I hold you in esteem because I liked the security of a ward environment, people around me to vent, to or bounce ideas off.

[indigo girl]

I agree but as you say, visiting nurses are going to experience something alot different now..

We have different areas of community nurses, Health visitors --they usually are triple trained, they have their general nursing, midwifery and either psych or paeds..They look after babes from they are 10 days old until they are school age (4 years)--1st response will come as a huge shock..They deal with babies/toddlers, post natal depression, post parteum problems.

District nurses--look after generally elderly but adults/kids after surgery. Fair enough..They also liaise with Hosps so may have more personal preps..

School nurses--Usually dual trained..So paeds and general..Sometimes Psych. Nice safe school environment..Huge shock.

The Marie Curie nurses or Macmillian nurses are the best prepared..They look after end stage oncology patients in their own home. Those that chose to die at home.

These are the basics but there are different specialities within a speciality..Breast and stoma care, urology, dialysis, they are all community nurses who become 1st responders..!

I really and truely hope there is counselling, debriefing during, never mind after a pandemic..I hold you in esteem because I liked the security of a ward environment, people around me to vent, to or bounce ideas off.

Our public health nursing is not the same thing as home health nursing.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but public health nurses, I believe, are employed by the state to deal with problems that effect the health of the public such as TB, hepatitus, and the like. Home health takes care of folks who need nursing intervention whilst they are living at home or in an assisted living environment. It is not total care, but nursing interventions and treatment.

Your system sounds far more advanced and geared to caring for people at home. I think much of our care is geared to caring for people in facilities.

This may be due to our lack of extended family situations in the US. There is no family available to provide care for many if they remain in the home.

We already know that this will be a problem if people become infected. For many, there will be no one to care for them at home. Therefore, we will need facilities to house and care for many victims.

[LMonty911]

I'll post a likely unpopular opinion. Sorry in advance if it offends.

Ive spent 30 years busting my butt doing patient care. Ive gotten hernias, ruined my back and had to have rotator cuff surgery for job related injuries. Ive gotten parvo virus thats caused residual arthralgias and daily pain; and god knows what else from work.

Ive had ARDS once already and beat the odds. I have mild COPD.

I hav ZERO, zip, zilch,nada, NO interest in dieing in a pandemic, espeiclly if it happens because the facility I work for didnt have the sense the Good Lord gave out to prepare. They've had warning, theres no excuse for it, besids finanical greed or incompetance.

Once the PPE is gone- I'm outta there!

I'm even considering being outta there before hand, in case they try to sequester us forcefully.

In 30 years of mostly ER nursing, Ive learned a lot. There are a not of nice people out there, and it makes me feel good to help them. But theres also an incredibly large and growing number of the population I deal with that has the belief that we are to be manipulated to their benefit. I have been intentionally attacked more times than I can count, and its noting new...it happens everywhere. They could care less about us, and many would slit our throats for their own benefit.

As you may have guesed, I've lost my romantic notions about nursing, We supply a commodity,and we are very expendable to both the employers and customers. I still believe in helping, I want to- but I'm not putting my life on the line if I can help it. I didnt go into this business thinking it was high risk, like police, fire or soldiers do- most of my colleagues in my age bracket didnt either.

I honestly believe I have given enough of my health and my mental and emotional well being already, and paid my dues to the public and my profession in the last three decades. I dont accept that anyone has the right to expect or ask for more, just because they couldnt provide the minimum safety requirements. No, my family comes first now, and thats the bottom line for me.

Thats one of the reasons I personally wish they would prepare, because then I wouldnt have to face the decision of walking out, with proper prior preparation and decent stoks of PPE I could participate, which is what I would like to do.

[indigo girl]

LMonty911,

I think many would agree because of their families. I can certainly understand this. My spouse is not happy that I will be working, but I keep thinking of who the victims are likely to be....kids and young people.

It is a personal decision that we all likely will have to make unless the state makes it for us.

What do you think the likelihood is, of H5N1 in the high path form being present in North America? I think that it is here simply because in other countries they found the high path form in dead birds prior to finding low path in live birds. Why would it be different in North America? They tell us only the low path is here, but that just does not make sense. What is so special about North America that it would be different from the rest of the world?

I do not have a crystal ball. I am just looking around at what governments, and health agencies, and the World Bank are saying, and I do not like what I am hearing. But, that does not matter, and neither do my personal beliefs. Pandemics occur every 30 to 40 years, that is what I hear. It does not matter if we are ready or not or if we believe in it or not.

I do wish heathcare facilities would wake up and buy those PPEs.

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