LA Gov declares state of Public Health Emergency

live4today, RN · Sep 3, 2005

I just read that too. Thanks for posting it. If I get to go help out, it will be as a travel nurse because I am penniless right now since I've been unemployed since April.

grinnurse, RN · Sep 3, 2005

I just read that too. Thanks for posting it. If I get to go help out, it will be as a travel nurse because I am penniless right now since I've been unemployed since April.

Hey Cheer-I am gonna go to the site and see if it is as volunteer or if they will be paid somehow.

Kelly

live4today, RN · Sep 3, 2005

Hey Cheer-I am gonna go to the site and see if it is as volunteer or if they will be paid somehow.
Kelly

Thanks Kelly! :) I signed on with Travel Nurses across America today on their website, so come Monday I will be doing serious calling to land a job there. :)

I've been working with NurseXtra, too, but they haven't found me a job yet. The agencies don't seem to be real honest with nurses these days like they were back in the late eighties and early nineties when I travelled a lot as a nurse. :rolleyes:

grinnurse, RN · Sep 3, 2005

For all those with the ability to contribute your services, I just saw on Fox News on the ticker at the bottom of the television this:
The Gov of LA has declared a state of Public Health Emergency which will allow all health care workers the opportunity to go and help the evacuees immediately. For more information contact the Dept of Health and Hospitals immediately.
I so wish that I could go, but as a new nurse don't feel that I am qualified yet to help these people. Hope we will have some volunteers to help with the relief effort.

UPDATE

Need to register with the Dept of Health and Human Services and you must be in good standing with in your state in order to go to work. It will be a non-paid temporary federal job but workman's comp will pay while employee of Health and Human Services. Also they will pay travel & per diem (don't know what that means). Here are a couple of links that I found:

USAFreedomCorps.gov

http://www.os.dhhs.gov/news/press/2005pres/20050903.html

SmilingBluEyes · Sep 4, 2005

TY for posting this!

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Sep 4, 2005

A state of emergency...ya think??

Took them long enough.

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2005

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me stress on a few points:

1. It doesn't matter how qualified you are. Even if all you can do is pass meds and do vital signs, it means that YOU do it and it frees someone with more qualifications and experience to handle the more serious cases.

Is this of help? You betcha! We are all human and human beings can only work so much before they collapse from fatigue. Even a 100 nursing students properly supervised can sweat the small stuff so that the RNs there can sweat the big stuff. Having 2 people on the job is better than 1, right?

2. It would be of immense help if you/your agency could somehow arrange for your supplies independently. I realise that this might not be a realistic possibility but the reason I suggest is threefold - a. it is safer for you because you have a known, trusted source for your supplies.... b. it reduces your dependence on the logistics there (which are already quite stressed and quite frankly might be inadequate or defficient) and lastly c. incase something goes wrong with their logistics train, it might be possible to use yours as a backup.

In anycase, I wish to express my admiration for all those of you who volunteer to head down there. You are truly some of humankinds finest!