ACNA Thoughts and Prayers for Nurses and Communities Impacted by the Recent Hurricanes

ACNA shares the loss and emotional trauma felt by our nurses who live and work in States, communities, hospitals, and correctional facilities impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. When communities encounter this level of devastation it is shockingly overwhelming and severely traumatizing. The loss of homes, personal memories, and items is devastating. When loss of life and injuries occur, the family and community members experience additional emotional trauma. We learned from Hurricane Katrina just how profoundly individuals, communities, and States were affected, and that the recovery is daunting, exhausting, and long.

ACNA offers its prayers and thoughts to these communities and individuals. Our hearts go out to all of them, and we specifically would like to lift the nurses from these communities as they must cope with the experience of the damage caused by the hurricanes and become an anchor of hope and resilience for others while they experience their trauma. Calls have gone out for available trained nurses, and there is an increased demand for nurses’ knowledge and skills to efficiently provide the needed care in hospitals, communities, and correctional facilities. The burden on correctional facilities brings increased complexities because of the design of facilities, population served, and staffing challenges of correctional systems.

Here are a few areas of support that may be useful, but the best place to start is with your State Nurses Association and State Board of Nursing. 

The American Organization for Nursing Leadership and the other members of the Tri-Council for Nursing encourage nurses to donate their time, words, and resources to support the many communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Organizations providing resources directly to registered nurses who have suffered loss and damages from the hurricane such as the:

• Tennessee Nurses Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

   https://tna.wildapricot.org/TNF-Get-Involved

• North Carolina Foundation for Nursing Nurse Recovery Fund https://www.ncnurses.org/

Resources for Nurses Living and Working in Disaster Zones

• ReadyNC.gov
• NC Department of Public Safety Hurricane Helene Resources
• FEMA disaster assistance

Resources for Nurses Who Want to Help:

Many nurses, understandably, want to use their unique skill sets to help with recovery efforts. Please do NOT self-deploy without going through an established organization.  Here are options for you:

• All Hands, All Hearts (https://www.allhandsandhearts.org/storm-tracker/hurricane-helene-2024/?_gl=1*tmwqek*_gcl_au*MTMwNTc0MjA4Ny4xNzI3NzA3NTUz )
  
  
• American Red Cross
  
  
• ReadyOp(specific to healthcare workers through the State Medical Assistance Team (SMAT) / Medical Reserve Corp (MRC))

Our prayers are with you,

ACNA Board of Directors

https://acna.nursingnetwork.com/