Lt. Stacy Nilsen, a clinical nurse specialist from Navy Regional Medical Center in San Diego, treats Chrisnel Sanon of Carrefour, Haiti, aboard the USS Bataan. The relief ship arrived off the coast of Haiti six days after the earthquake struck.
(Photo by Mark D. Faram/Navy Times)
In the days since an earthquake in Haiti on Jan. 12 left thousands dead, thousands more wounded and massive damage, tens of thousands of U.S. nurses have signed on with various organizations to offer assistance.
“Nurses are, by nature, people who want to help. There’s a lot of energy and a lot of willingness to be generous and give time,” says Elizabeth Sloand, CRNP, PhD, who has traveled to Haiti many times in her work as an assistant professor in the department of acute and chronic care at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Nursing in Baltimore, and is preparing to return.
But she and others who are working with relief efforts say nurses who want to go to Haiti should proceed with caution, patience and understanding of what might seem like miles of bureaucratic red tape.
“You can’t just take a team and plop them in the middle of Haiti right now,” Sloand says. “Anyone who goes will add to the country’s problem unless it is with a group [and] a structure with plenty of careful planning and coordination with a larger agency.”
Many organizations, from hospitals to nursing unions to international organizations, are offering nurses the opportunity to sign up to volunteer in Haiti, though generally with the caveat that it won’t be right away for most.
Infrastructure Barriers
Haiti, a country with little infrastructure to begin with, has been seriously damaged by the earthquake, says Helga Scharf-Bell, FNP-MSN, program development branch chief for the National Disaster Medical System, which is run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Her organization is operating a number of health teams in Haiti, including the state Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and International Medical-Surgical Response Teams, both of which include nurses.
Supplies are scarce, the major airport and shipping ports have been damaged, and international responders are arriving hourly, she says. HHS wants to coordinate operations so healthcare teams can go where they are most needed to support those already working in the country, she says. “Unfortunately, sometimes when you work with the federal government you have rules and regulations that you have to adhere to,” Sharf-Bell says.
HHS has 270 medical workers in Haiti, and is planning to send more. DMAT teams from Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida, Georgia and California are in Haiti. Some have set up an urgent care center in a soccer field, some are working at the airport with those who are leaving the country, some are working at the U.S. Embassy, and others are helping staff at various hospitals.
Most of the nurses working with governmental and non-governmental organizations have some sort of experience and training with disaster relief, say representatives of those organizations. About 13 nurses from Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham Women’s Hospital in Boston have been deployed to Haiti, mostly as part of IMSuRT and DMAT teams, and through Partners In Health, a Massachusetts-based international organization that has worked in Haiti for years.
“The people who are part of the IMSuRT and DMAT teams are highly trained individuals,” says Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, MS, senior vice president for patient care and chief nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. “They are ready to go 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Their passports are ready; their immunizations are up-to-date; their bags are packed.”
Patience Needed
But even nurses with packed bags are finding they must be patient. Annie Lewis O’Connor, RN, NP, PhD, program manager for nursing practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is part of an on-call team going to Haiti, probably through Partners In Health. O’Connor says she got the call to go on Sunday, was told she would leave on Tuesday, then was told to wait, that surgical units were being set up and OR nurses would have priority. Her backpack is filled with items such as earplugs for sleeping, easily washable nylon clothing, and menthol rub to help mask rotting odors. She’s made arrangements for child care and is waiting for a call she expects at any moment.
O’Connor has worked in Boston’s Haitian community, speaks some Creole, and has been part of previous disaster relief efforts. But as a former public health student she understands the logistical problems. “The ultimate goal is to get the infrastructure set up,” she says. “If you step back a little bit, you can provide more and better care to people.” Nurses also must understand they will be working to support the Haitian people, not to take over for them, she says. “We can’t go in there and say, ‘We’re from America and this is what we’re going to do.’”
The National Nurses United union, which has more than 12,000 nurses signed up to go to Haiti through its RN Response Network relief program, is still working to get some of those nurses deployed. The process has been frustrating, reports Liz Jacobs, RN, a spokeswoman for the union. But she says the group will find a way to do it. “If we’re not part of the first deployment, we’ll be part of the next deployment,” she says. “We see there’s a long-term need and we’re trying to raise the money so we can keep nurses there.”
Alternate Roles
The American Red Cross is not sending nurses to work on hospital teams in Haiti, though they might work in other jobs, such as first responders or interpreters, says Sharon A. R. Stanley, RN, PhD, RS, chief nurse and director of disaster health and mental health services for the American Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Medical efforts are being coordinated through the group’s international arm.
Stanley suggests nurses sign up with a database created by the Center for International Disaster Information, which will take their names and information about their specialties and language abilities, and offer that information to international non-governmental organizations looking for volunteers to go to Haiti or future disasters. In the meantime, nurses can volunteer at their local Red Cross for work that might include aiding evacuees in certain regions, she says.
“People should not be put off by the inability to immediately go to Haiti,” Stanley says. “There’s going to be work in Haiti for a long time and that includes healthcare.”
Her words are echoed by representatives at aid groups such as Partners In Health and Miami-based Project Medishare, both of which have nurses on the ground in Haiti and Web sites where more nurses can sign up to go. They also are looking for volunteers stateside.
“We need help manning phones and collecting information about people who want to donate medical supplies and their planes to help us get down there,” says Jennifer Browning, online media representative for Project Medishare, which has worked in Haiti for more than 15 years. “Right now, we’re just in the first phase. But we’re going to be there long after the cameras are gone.”
Cathryn Domrose is a staff writer for Nurse.com.
“Nurses are, by nature, people who want to help. There’s a lot of energy and a lot of willingness to be generous and give time,” says Elizabeth Sloand, CRNP, PhD, who has traveled to Haiti many times in her work as an assistant professor in the department of acute and chronic care at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Nursing in Baltimore, and is preparing to return.
But she and others who are working with relief efforts say nurses who want to go to Haiti should proceed with caution, patience and understanding of what might seem like miles of bureaucratic red tape.
“You can’t just take a team and plop them in the middle of Haiti right now,” Sloand says. “Anyone who goes will add to the country’s problem unless it is with a group [and] a structure with plenty of careful planning and coordination with a larger agency.”
Many organizations, from hospitals to nursing unions to international organizations, are offering nurses the opportunity to sign up to volunteer in Haiti, though generally with the caveat that it won’t be right away for most.
Infrastructure Barriers
Haiti, a country with little infrastructure to begin with, has been seriously damaged by the earthquake, says Helga Scharf-Bell, FNP-MSN, program development branch chief for the National Disaster Medical System, which is run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Her organization is operating a number of health teams in Haiti, including the state Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and International Medical-Surgical Response Teams, both of which include nurses.
Supplies are scarce, the major airport and shipping ports have been damaged, and international responders are arriving hourly, she says. HHS wants to coordinate operations so healthcare teams can go where they are most needed to support those already working in the country, she says. “Unfortunately, sometimes when you work with the federal government you have rules and regulations that you have to adhere to,” Sharf-Bell says.
HHS has 270 medical workers in Haiti, and is planning to send more. DMAT teams from Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida, Georgia and California are in Haiti. Some have set up an urgent care center in a soccer field, some are working at the airport with those who are leaving the country, some are working at the U.S. Embassy, and others are helping staff at various hospitals.
Most of the nurses working with governmental and non-governmental organizations have some sort of experience and training with disaster relief, say representatives of those organizations. About 13 nurses from Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham Women’s Hospital in Boston have been deployed to Haiti, mostly as part of IMSuRT and DMAT teams, and through Partners In Health, a Massachusetts-based international organization that has worked in Haiti for years.
“The people who are part of the IMSuRT and DMAT teams are highly trained individuals,” says Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, MS, senior vice president for patient care and chief nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. “They are ready to go 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Their passports are ready; their immunizations are up-to-date; their bags are packed.”
Patience Needed
But even nurses with packed bags are finding they must be patient. Annie Lewis O’Connor, RN, NP, PhD, program manager for nursing practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is part of an on-call team going to Haiti, probably through Partners In Health. O’Connor says she got the call to go on Sunday, was told she would leave on Tuesday, then was told to wait, that surgical units were being set up and OR nurses would have priority. Her backpack is filled with items such as earplugs for sleeping, easily washable nylon clothing, and menthol rub to help mask rotting odors. She’s made arrangements for child care and is waiting for a call she expects at any moment.
O’Connor has worked in Boston’s Haitian community, speaks some Creole, and has been part of previous disaster relief efforts. But as a former public health student she understands the logistical problems. “The ultimate goal is to get the infrastructure set up,” she says. “If you step back a little bit, you can provide more and better care to people.” Nurses also must understand they will be working to support the Haitian people, not to take over for them, she says. “We can’t go in there and say, ‘We’re from America and this is what we’re going to do.’”
The National Nurses United union, which has more than 12,000 nurses signed up to go to Haiti through its RN Response Network relief program, is still working to get some of those nurses deployed. The process has been frustrating, reports Liz Jacobs, RN, a spokeswoman for the union. But she says the group will find a way to do it. “If we’re not part of the first deployment, we’ll be part of the next deployment,” she says. “We see there’s a long-term need and we’re trying to raise the money so we can keep nurses there.”
Alternate Roles
The American Red Cross is not sending nurses to work on hospital teams in Haiti, though they might work in other jobs, such as first responders or interpreters, says Sharon A. R. Stanley, RN, PhD, RS, chief nurse and director of disaster health and mental health services for the American Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Medical efforts are being coordinated through the group’s international arm.
Stanley suggests nurses sign up with a database created by the Center for International Disaster Information, which will take their names and information about their specialties and language abilities, and offer that information to international non-governmental organizations looking for volunteers to go to Haiti or future disasters. In the meantime, nurses can volunteer at their local Red Cross for work that might include aiding evacuees in certain regions, she says.
“People should not be put off by the inability to immediately go to Haiti,” Stanley says. “There’s going to be work in Haiti for a long time and that includes healthcare.”
Her words are echoed by representatives at aid groups such as Partners In Health and Miami-based Project Medishare, both of which have nurses on the ground in Haiti and Web sites where more nurses can sign up to go. They also are looking for volunteers stateside.
“We need help manning phones and collecting information about people who want to donate medical supplies and their planes to help us get down there,” says Jennifer Browning, online media representative for Project Medishare, which has worked in Haiti for more than 15 years. “Right now, we’re just in the first phase. But we’re going to be there long after the cameras are gone.”
Cathryn Domrose is a staff writer for Nurse.com.
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