North Carolina hospitals search for missing employees days after Helene

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

NBC News:

North Carolina hospitals search for missing employees days after Helene

Dozens of hospital workers are unaccounted for, unreachable by phone and possibly stuck in inaccessible areas.

Quote

 

In the days leading up to Hurricane Helene, Dr. Lisa Kaufmann worked around the clock to make sure her North Carolina hospital system was as prepared as possible, stockpiling supplies like water, food, medication and equipment.

But nearly a week after the storm's ferocious floodwaters destroyed so much of the western part of the state, Kaufmann, the chief medical officer for UNC Appalachian Regional Healthcare System's three hospitals, said they're now dealing with another crisis.

Forty-two hospital employees are still unaccounted for, unable to be reached by phone and possibly stuck in places that are inaccessible.

...While many health care workers are accustomed to stress, those in the disaster zone say it's now being compounded by their new reality. 

Hannah Drummond, a registered nurse at Mission Health in Asheville and the chief representative for National Nurses United, the union that represents nurses there, said it's been an emotional roller coaster. 

"There are moments that we have where we're able to cope and compartmentalize and focus on the patient, and there were moments where somehow we've been able to joke and laugh and then there are other moments where we're hugging each other, choking back our tears,” Drummond said. ...

...Kaufmann said the number of employees unaccounted for at UNC Appalachian was much higher immediately after the storm. Nearly 50% of the 1,600 employees were unreachable, she said. So, she got creative, enlisting the marketing team to use social media to call on all employees to check in and let them know if they were safe.

"That number started exploding with calls from employees who were trying to call in because they wanted people to know, 'I'm OK' and 'This is my status on whether I can get through to report to work' and so forth,” Kaufmann said. "We were able to get hold of a lot of people.” ..

But as the days go by and dozens of employees remain unaccounted for, Kaufmann said she's staying positive and channeling her stress and anxiety into figuring out how to find them....