Created as part of the "Serve America Act" signed into law in April, the United We Serve campaign calls upon all Americans to make a focused effort to volunteer in their communities over the next three months, culminating in a National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11, 2009. The United We Serve initiative encourages Americans to play an active role in the nation's economic recovery by stepping up to volunteer in service projects at this critical time in our nation's history, when help is needed and resources are stretched thin.
"In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the increase in the level of the pandemic alert of the H1N1 flu virus, now more than ever it is critical that nurses heed the call to serve by signing up on national disaster registries," said ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, CNOR. "ANA strongly believes that in order to respond effectively, now is the time for nurses to get prepared -- not when the disaster occurs, but before it strikes."
As the nation's front-line health care providers, historically nurses have played a vital, critical role in disaster response during catastrophic events. In the event that an overwhelmed community needs help in mass immunization, mass sheltering or other extraordinary conditions, nurses can be counted on to save lives and provide on-site care.
By joining a disaster response registry, an RN's licensure can be pre-verified and validated; he/she will have access to disaster training and drilling; and during a disaster, he/she will be deployed through a recognized system that has been incorporated into the local, state, and national response plans.
Nurses who are interested in pre-registering with a disaster response organization should visit the websites of the following programs:
Community Emergency Response Team
American Red Cross - Volunteer
Medical Reserve Corps
National Disaster Medical System
Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals
Be Safe, Be Prepared: Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals in Disaster Response
For more information on the United We Serve effort, visit http://www.serve.gov.
Source: American Nurses Association
ANA Commends President Obama's "United We Serve" Initiative and Urges Nurses to Join ...
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