St John's Regional Medical Center Joplin Missouri

LesMonsterRN, ADN, RN · May 23, 2011

I live in Joplin, I feel so helpless, everything is gone. I helped load three bodies in the back of a truck last night. I can't sleep, search and rescue will be going on for days. I can't get a hold of many friends, but luckily my family is okay.
If ANYONE lives in the Joplin, MO region, please help if you can. We are in desperate need of nurses, doctors, ems, supplies, everything. Shelters are overwhellmed, triage centers are being set up and the only other hospital in town will not take patients.
Sorry for going off topic, I just need some place to vent.

I am so sorry, Stever01. I am thankful your family is okay. I can't imagine a disaster of this magnitude. I hope you can hear from your friends very soon and will keep them all in my thoughts.

From Central MO,

Les

Zombi RN · May 23, 2011

Thanks! I tried calling the red cross number but all the local lines seem to be still jammed. Do you think they're just wanting RN's to help or LPNs cut it too?

You're still a nurse! You still have helping hands and a willingness to serve -- so I can't imagine they'd say no!

Sparrowhawk · May 23, 2011

116 confirmed dead. :crying2:

yetanotheramanda · May 23, 2011

https://showmeresponse.org/

a link for volunteer medical professionals.

Trauma Columnist · May 23, 2011

This link is only for currently licensed MO healthcare professionals.

crb613, BSN, RN · May 23, 2011

I'm gonna head down and help. Trying to find out who I need to get in contact with.

I was thinking the same thing....gonna check with my director to see what we might be able to do!

jenelaine77 · May 24, 2011

Some fellow nursing students and I were there Sunday night and Monday. Sunday they let us help out in the triage area, doing vitals, basic stuff. Yesterday, at memorial hall, they were taking ANY licensed medical personnel, from any state. They had nurses, techs, docs, everyone. You would sign in and write your license number, then join a team at a table or wait to relieve someone. They tried to rotate shifts every 3-4 hours. The phone number to memorial hall in Joplin, where they are treating and triaging the patients is 417-623-3254. I hope this will help.

rgroyer1RNBSN, BSN, RN · May 25, 2011

I am from joplin, and my family lives there. I just happened to be visiting at my parents house when the tornado hit. Everyone was okay, but my mom is an RN also and was at work at the hospital. She was very upset, I went and helped as soon as I could get there about 5 min. from moms, but it was awful, my team had a bunch of people gravely injured, and we lost some of those people because we did not have supplies and equipment at first to help them. It was very sad to see my hometown that I was born and lived in the whole time I was a kid practically obliterated. :crying2:

chicookie, BSN, RN · May 25, 2011

I am from joplin, and my family lives there. I just happened to be visiting at my parents house when the tornado hit. Everyone was okay, but my mom is an RN also and was at work at the hospital. She was very upset, I went and helped as soon as I could get there about 5 min. from moms, but it was awful, my team had a bunch of people gravely injured, and we lost some of those people because we did not have supplies and equipment at first to help them. It was very sad to see my hometown that I was born and lived in the whole time I was a kid practically obliterated.

:crying2: My prayers are with you and your family along with everyone else in that area. Stay safe! And I am glad that at least your family was ok.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 25, 2011

I am from joplin, and my family lives there. I just happened to be visiting at my parents house when the tornado hit. Everyone was okay, but my mom is an RN also and was at work at the hospital. She was very upset, I went and helped as soon as I could get there about 5 min. from moms, but it was awful, my team had a bunch of people gravely injured, and we lost some of those people because we did not have supplies and equipment at first to help them. It was very sad to see my hometown that I was born and lived in the whole time I was a kid practically obliterated.

I have been in tornados and been in them while at work.....but NEVER have I seen that level of devestation to a facility....how horrible it must have been!!!! Holy Crap!!!!! Where do you turn first?? My prayers are with everyone and especially the rescue and medical staff for their bravery and dedication:yeah: :yeah: :yeah:

In a mass casualty situation there are those first traumas that are gravely injured and even if they could get into an OR their injuries are not survivable, so you help those with injuries that they can survive from.......It is extremely difficult to deal with utter devatostation of this magnitude......the country is with all of you......((HUGS))

BluegrassRN · May 25, 2011

When this is all over, I hope that some nurses from Joplin would consider posting on here about their experiences in great, minute detail. I live in a tornado prone area, we pull pts in the hallways several times a year, but we've never sustained a hit to the hospital.

I want to know exactly how it played out. How did you determine which stairwell was safe to exit? Did each unit send a staff member for recon, or did you just start with the healthiest, walky-talkys and head toward the nearest exit? Did your in hospital mini-cells work? Did you just saline lock everyone and worry about drips, etc after they were out? Did you use stretchers from the ED to get people down the stairs? How many people per patient did that take? What about meds/charts/etc...when you evac pts, was there any possibility of their chart or H&P going with them or could you just not even worry about that? Did anyone go back after the fact and try to obtain charts and records for these pts, or was that not a possibility?

I know from now on, when I pull pts out into the hall, they are going to have their shoes on, they will be covered in a blanket, and will be holding their wallet/purse and a flashlight. I always try to have a flashlight and my personal cell phone on me during a tornado watch or warning, but I never thought about trying to get patients in slippers out of glass-strewn hallways in their slippers (duh, seems like a no brainer, but sometimes I'm stupid). Our administration has heard that flashlights were in short supply, and are purchasing one for each pt room.

What else? What did you need that you wish you had? What aspects of your disaster preparedness were helpful? I know a lot of it will end up being simple common sense and will be specific to your situation, but I still think those of us who have to deal with the possibility of a devastating, catastrophic natural disaster (tornado, hurricane, earthquake, etc) would benefit from hearing the details of your experiences.

gentlegiver, ASN, LPN, RN · May 25, 2011

Thanks! I tried calling the red cross number but all the local lines seem to be still jammed. Do you think they're just wanting RN's to help or LPNs cut it too?

With the Red Cross, LPNs will be used as clean up. I was going to sign up and was told I could not function as a Nurse with them. But they were more than happy to have me do clean up in the field.