The National Nurses United (NNU) updated their number of RN volunteers in the RN Response Network (RNRN) to 7,000 today. These nurses are from all across the U.S. and are anxiously waiting for the go ahead to to travel to Haiti for the relief effort. The issue of course continues to be the need for funding to make this happen. I am proud to say I am one of the 7,000 nurses waiting to go, but the NNU is still in the process of collaborating with multiple organizations while working on coming up with enough donations to start sending us. When I eventually get to go (crossing my fingers), I promise to capture pictures, videos, and stories from the frontlines as I use my nursing skills to aid those who desperately need care.
Today, the NNU set up a “Send A Nurse” Disaster Relief Fund. Please go to their website and donate any amount so we can start sending nurses to Haiti as soon as possible.
The Star Tribune wrote an article today about how Minnesotan’s are ready to support the relief, but barriers are keeping the help from reaching Haiti:
Across Minnesota, as a large outpouring of volunteers and aid takes shape to help Haiti, Minnesotans are worrying that they are in a race against time.
Will emergency supplies arrive fast enough to save lives? Is there a place for volunteers to sleep? Is there food and water?
Feed My Starving Children, in the Twin Cities, is scrambling to get 1 million meals to Haiti in the weeks ahead. A White Bear Lake nonprofit is rushing its director there to check on the fate of its school and orphanages. A St. Cloud bank executive is writing a check for $50,000 to spur other donations to the tragedy.
But people — even doctors, nurses and engineers — need to wait for the right time.
Food, water, and housing are in such short supply that only skilled volunteers working with large international relief organizations are welcome at this moment.
“It’s going to be very unpredictable,” said Monte Achenbach, one of two staffers from the Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee who flew to Haiti Thursday. “The first things that need to be done are to clear the roads, clear the people trapped in the buildings and offer food, water, sanitary services — the things people are literally dying for.”
In the same article, nursing colleague and close friend Cassandra Hamilton, RN was also interviewed:
In the Twin Cities, Cassandra Hamilton was among the Minnesota nurses who responded to a call by National Nurses United to help the injured in Haiti. Hamilton is a family care nurse who works with children at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids.
“I feel like nursing is a way to give back to people,” said Hamilton, who also has volunteered in Colombia. “I feel it’s my obligation.”
A University of Minnesota bioethicist outlined what needs to happen for the Haiti relief efforts to be successful:
As urgent as it feels now, Minnesotans should realize the crisis in Haiti will be with us for a long time, said Steve Miles, a University of Minnesota bioethicist who has participated in many medical relief missions.
“What’s really needed now is food, diggers, dogs and materials,” Miles said. “The best approach right now is to send money to large organizations … that can move on a swift and large scale.”
The next phase, he said, will include erecting “MASH-style” hospitals, clinics and feeding stations, as well as massive public health services.
The final phases include the rebuilding of roads, libraries, schools, and telecommunications systems, he said. This is where Minnesotans should consider lending a hand.
The NNU held an almost hour and a half long conference call yesterday led by executive director Rose Ann DeMoro with more than 1,800 RN’s and other national callers (including the press). This was one of the largest, if not THE largest ever conference call held by NNU or CNA/NNOC, with the purpose of outlining the current plan for nurse deployment to Haiti. From my notes, here is what I’ve gathered for those interested in where we are at.
Disclaimer: Every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of what was said during the conference call. Despite being an NNU member myself, the following is not meant to represent any official statement from the organization. Please visit their website for the latest news and for all official statements.
- Nurses have historically been extremely valuable resources during relief efforts given their multiple skills & specialties, ability to assess situations in the environment and with the patient, carry out skilled treatments, and work under difficult conditions night and day. Nurses organized through the RN Response Network were well recognized for their work during Katrina and in Sri Lanka.
- NNU is preparing a systematic process to roll-out nurses in waves. Miami will act as the homebase for RN’s to travel to first, before they are transported to Haiti by either air, or potentially sea travel depending on what partnerships are made.
- The first priority is SAFETY for our nurses. We will need security set in place at all times by groups such as the military, national guard, UN, or other security groups from other countries. We will not put our nurses at risk by going if we can’t ensure constant protection.
- RN’s need to be prepared and properly oriented before deployment. Vaccinations need to be up-to-date due to potential exposure to many infectious diseases. Typical exposure includes food and water-borne disease, E. Coli, typhoid fever, HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis A and B, worms, tetanus, measles, malaria, malnutrition, and dehydration for example. Sanitation is a problem in the country, as well as clean water and shelter (we will likely have to sleep in sleeping bags and potentially on the streets). Aftershocks are still occurring which makes it dangerous to stay in unsteady buildings. RN’s also need to be prepared mentally and emotionally as they will see a numerous amount of trauma patients, broken bones, dead children and adults laying in the street, kids without parents, and significant pain and suffering.
- NNU is hoping for cooperation from the health insurance industry and pharmaceutical companies to offer discounts, or even free vaccinations for RN’s going to Haiti. Some of the vaccinations take up to 2-3 weeks before they are fully effective, thus delaying immediate deployment for some. This is another top priority for NNU so we don’t have many more delays, however.
- RN’s will also need passports, but we are hoping that the White House may be able to waive certain travel requirements based on this being declared an emergency. This would prevent more unnecessary delays holding qualified RN’s back because lives are at risk in Haiti!
From the NNU press release related to the conference call, Rose Ann DeMoro added:
“We are asking the hospitals to provide paid time off for the nurses who wish to join this effort. We are also asking the pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies to provide free vaccinations for the nurse volunteers, and others to donate medical supplies for the nurses to bring with them,” DeMoro said.
It will be very important for nurses to work with their healthcare organizations to arrange days off. The deployment waves will likely last 7-10 days according to the conference call. So far I’ve contacted the Allina Hospitals & Clinics, one of the largest healthcare organizations in MN and was directed to the following news post by them:
Haiti Earthquake Disaster Relief
Jan. 14, 2010
The devastation in Haiti caused by the recent earthquake has people around the world asking how they can help. Many Allina employees have asked if they can donate Paid Time Off (PTO) to disaster relief efforts, as was the case in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Current Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations require that PTO donations of this type be taxed — however, we are hopeful the IRS will suspend this requirement soon, which will enable employees to help in this way. We will communicate the process for donating PTO to Haitian relief efforts as soon as the IRS acts.
Additionally, Allina representatives are coordinating with relief agencies to identify a process for deploying clinical personnel, supplies and/or equipment to Haiti. We will communicate additional detail on this as plans come together.
We know that Allina employees are anxious to help, and we will provide additional information as soon as possible.
The American Red Cross and OxFam are accepting donations for Haiti relief efforts.
Hopefully they will recognize the “Send A Nurse” Disaster Relief Fund is in need of money to send our nation’s nurses. Additionally, this and any other healthcare organization could be recognized internationally if they work with their nurses schedules to give them time off and use the donated PTO as charity pay to RN’s who take off from work to go to Haiti. It would be a win-win situation for everyone, especially for the lives potentially saved in Haiti.
IDHA! will continue to cover the Haiti situation and update everyone on the status of nurse deployment as well as my own hopefully soon. Please keep checking back.
