Nobody knows what the next disaster in Washington State will be. It may be Mt. Rainier becoming more active or it may be a large earthquake. Or possibly the emergency will be a major infectious disease epidemic. Whatever it is, Registered Nurses will be in demand to respond – not only for their own families and neighbors but for the public as a whole.
Resources for Nurses Responding to Disasters
Did you know that there is a good resource for dealing with emergency situations available on the Washington State Department of Health Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response website? This website is available at: http://www.doh.wa.gov/phepr/pheprlho.htm. Here you can find a toolkit for emergency communications and an emergency resource guide as well as fact sheets for the general public. You can download the emergency resource guide at: http://www.doh.wa.gov/phepr/handbook/hbk_pdf/EmerRes08.pdf. This website also includes other resources for planners, schools, nurses, first responders, healthcare and laboratory personnel, and hospitals.
Washington Health Volunteers in Emergencies (WHAVE)
If you are not already registered for the Washington Health Volunteers in Emergencies (WAHVE) to assist in the case of a disaster or emergency, you may want to sign up. WAHVE is open for licensed healthcare professionals only. To explore this opportunity, go to the WAHVE website for information. http://www.doh.wa.gov/phepr/wahve/nextWAHVE.htm.