I am very grateful that we only got rain, cold temperatures and high winds where I reside, but I was closely monitoring the events in the East Coast where Hurricane Sandy was predicted to hit. The TV coverage and social media was quite extensive that unless you didn’t want to know, you wouldn’t miss anything.
There were many photos and video footage from the wrath of the storm but this one caught my attention.
photo from WABC NY
A healthcare worker, (presumed to be a nurse), manually resuscitating an infant in her arms while being evacuated from a NYC hospital as the storm hit the city last night. This was one of those moments that captured what we would do to keep our patients safe and it is moments like this makes me proud of our profession. Whoever that “nurse” was, thank you!
Of course, I can’t help but notice the hanging IV bag and the infusion pump mounted on the pole. Hospitals have back up generators in case of power failures and infusion pumps will switch to battery mode that is, hoping the pumps were plugged and charged. Emergency preparedness plans take effect in these situations as was the case here, where patients were evacuated and safely transferred to another hospital.
What about infusion patients at home? Home infusion providers, just like the hospitals, do have emergency preparedness plans as well. The patients are provided with instructions and steps to take when situations like this happen and patients will be contacted by their providers to ensure they as well as their medications are in a safe place.
It’s not easy to be a nurse on a regular work day, it becomes more difficult and challenging when a hurricane is about to hit your city and you have to ensure your patients are safe. I have several nurse relatives, friends and colleagues in the East Coast. Some were stranded in the hospitals and still working, others made it home safely (and exhausted) now dealing with damages to their homes. We are grateful and thankful for their hard work and dedication. They all have the same reply – they were doing their jobs and this was just another day in the life of a nurse!
Thank you to the first responders, healthcare providers, and medical personnel and others who’ve risked their lives to keep our patients safe!
Infusion Nurse Blog 
Here’s an idea. Compile a group of stories by RNs who worked through severe weather storms, describing their experience (minus patient ID).
Thank you for reading this post and for your comments.
Best regards,
Cora (@infusionnurse)
I think most of the world held their breath, knowing about the evacuation. Those at home, were not so lucky, due to health providers only supplying batteries, or expecting them to cope with equipment that only lasts 7hrs before needing recharging. Yet there are batteries that last longer. Lets hope the health provider firms think about Sandy, and do start providing satisfactory equipment.
The moms and carers as well as the hospital staff were awesome, in coping in such a situation. I hope we dont get to hear that anyone lost their life due to Sandy and insufficient equipment.
Thank you for reading this post and for your comments.
Best regards,
Cora (@infusionnurse)