MCN. The American journal of maternal child nursing
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MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs · Jul 2008
Evacuation of a maternal-newborn area during Hurricane Katrina.
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall and inflicted devastation across the Gulf Coast. The catastrophic hurricane and flooding from failed levees in New Orleans made this event the most destructive natural and man-made disaster to occur in the United States' history (White House, 2006). Such a massive disaster challenged survival for everyone in its path, including patients and healthcare professionals. ⋯ Nurses were not able to provide care in the typical patient care environment because patients were relocated to multiple areas of the hospital, the ER ramp, and the parking garage to await evacuation. The temperature soared to 110 degrees F, and evacuation efforts were chaotic and disorganized. This article describes the heroic efforts of a strong and cohesive nursing team in caring for our patients and providing for the evacuation of 16 critically ill newborns from the Level 3 regional neonatal intensive care unit and 5 well newborns and their mothers.
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MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs · Jul 2008
ReviewConsiderations for emergencies & disasters in the neonatal intensive care unit.
This article outlines outside principles of emergency and disaster planning for neonatal intensive care units and includes resources available to organizations to support planning and education, and considerations for nurses developing hospital-specific neonatal intensive care unit disaster plans. Hospital disaster preparedness programs and unit-specific policies and procedures are essential in facilitating an effective response to major incidents or disasters, whether they are man-made or natural. All disasters place extraordinary stress on existing resources, systems, and personnel. If nurses in neonatal intensive care units work collaboratively to identify essential services in disasters, the result could be safer care for vulnerable patients.