Urgent Need for Nurses in Mississippi due to Hurricane Katrina

[moni rn]

i received this from tna (tennessee nurses association).

urgent need for nurses in mississippi due to hurricane katrina

there is an urgent need for nurses in mississippi due to the devastation caused by hurricane katrina. hospitals across south ms have critical shortages of water, supplies, and fuel. the situation is pretty unbelievable. all of the facilities on the gulf coast (approximately 12 facilities) have limited capabilities and critical staffing needs. the southern half of the state is essentially without clean water and little power.

they have a critical need for dialysis nurses in particular. mississippi has the highest rate of end stage renal disease in the u.s. so you can imagine the challenges they have in meeting renal dialysis needs. *

nurses in tennessee are able to come to ms via the national compact for licensure. please send out an urgent message to your nurses to request their assistance in responding to this disaster.

ideally, if you could organize nurses into teams (approximately 6 to 8 members to a team that could be deployed to a hospital together) and then contact either the mississippi board of nursing or the mississippi hospital association at the emergency operations center they will arrange the deployment and take care of the details. the board of nursing office in jackson has no power today.*the executive director is delia owens and she can be contacted at the following numbers: (cell) 601-497-8002; (home) 601-898-3558; e-mail [email protected] - as soon as power is restored to the mbn office, the contact phone number will be*[phone]. contact information for the mississippi hospital association- please email marcella mckay at [email protected] or call her directly at (cell) 601-953-0358 (land line at eoc) 601-576-8161.

please feel free to contact me directly if you have any further questions at [phone].

thank you for your help.

tener goodwin veenema phd, mph, ms, cpnp

associate professor of nursing & emergency medicine

university of rochester medical center

rochester, new york 14642

vice president and chief nursing officer

strategic initiatives & emergency preparedness

logical images, inc.

3445 winton place, suite 240

rochester, new york 14623

phone [phone] ext.109/fax [phone]

cellular [phone]

email [email protected]

cheri m. glass************************

managing editor, tennessee nurse

communications coordinator

tennessee nurses association

545 mainstream drive, ste. 405

nashville, tn 37228-1296

email: [email protected]

phone: [phone]

fax: [phone]

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