RNs encouraged to register as emergency preparedness
volunteers
Last year, in response to Hurricane Katrina, MNA staff and
members responded to the disaster in many ways. Nurses and
other staff met at MNA to discuss strategies, shared information
about our members who were on site in New Orleans, posted
regular updates about volunteer efforts on the MNA website,
organized donations and mailings of scrubs and personal care
items to nurses who were already onsite or who traveled to
New Orleans, volunteered at the Otis base on the Cape, coordinated
communications with the Massachusetts Department of Public
Health, etc. These efforts were greatly appreciated and led
to discussions about ways to organize in the future.
The MNA Emergency Preparedness Task Force has been meeting
regularly. Staff are currently organizing Emergency Preparedness
Manuals which will contain hard copies of information which
may be useful should websites/pc access go down. MNA offered
a 3-session course on "All Hazards" Disaster Preparedness
over the spring/summer 2006 which was booked to capacity.
Several of the attendees, as well as other MNA members, subsequently
requested MNA to "please keep their names on a list"—for
a future disaster where a call goes out for volunteers. There
are many volunteer options to consider, but several members
want MNA to maintain a list in order to assure accessibility
if needed, and also to use for periodic updates of developments
in the now burgeoning—unfortunately—"disaster"
field.
At its August meeting the MNA Board approved the “MNA
Emergency Preparedness Volunteer Form” as a method
of maintaining contact information for nurses interested in
volunteering should the need arise.
MNA most strongly encourages nurses to participate at their
local level by becoming involved with their town or city Health
Department’s emergency preparedness planning committee
and by becoming “CERT trained” (Community Emergency
Response Team).The Commonwealth is also organizing a volunteer
database called “MSAR” (Massachusetts System of
Advance Registration of voluntary health personnel). Contact
information is listed below.
Finally MNA most emphatically encourages all volunteers—as
with ALL nurses—to obtain your own personal, professional
liability coverage to protect your nursing license!
For more information please contact Mary Crotty at mcrotty@mnarn.org
781.830.5743 or Chris Pontus, cpontus@mnarn.org,
781.830.5754.
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