Nurses care for hardest hit in the Rockaways, Staten Island

New York nurses go door-to-door to provide direct medical assistance

NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2012 - New York nurses are caring for some of the hardest hit by the storm – going door-to-door in the Rockaways, staffing emergency medical tents in Staten Island, and taking heroic measures to care for their patients.

NYSNA in the Rockaways

Teams of New York nurses went door-to-door in the Rockaways, conducting patient assessments and delivering medical care and medication to residents.

For residents trapped in their homes for days without power, heat, or hot water, this was their first contact with a medical professional since Sandy hit.

The mobile medical teams were organized by Doctors Without Borders, the Rockaways Youth Task Force, Occupy Sandy, and the New York State Nurses Association.

Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, and Eileen Letzeizer, RN, led the NYSNA effort this week to install these mobile clinics in the Rockaways.

“Our RN’s are working hard to meet the medical and human needs of Sandy victims in the New York Metropolitan area and beyond,” said Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, a nurse from Montefiore Medical Center who helped lead the NYSNA team on the Rockaways. “It’s amazing to witness the human resilience and camaraderie that comes through despite Sandy’s destruction. Our team of nurses is fortunate to work with Occupy Sandy and other agencies in these relief efforts.”

Two nurses from Westchester Medical Center, Eileen Letzeiser, RN, and Lize Mirditaj, also helped lead the Rockaways response team.

NYSNA in Staten Island

In Staten Island, nurses are working twelve hour shifts at shelters in Susan Wagner High School and Totenville High School.

Continuous Patient Care in Difficult Conditions

Tens of thousands of nurses and NYSNA members are at their posts in their facilities, providing uninterrupted quality medical attention to their patients.

In one of the storm’s most heroic acts, Nurses at Bellevue Hospital and Coney Island Hospital, both part of the HHC system, evacuated their hospitals under very difficult circumstances.

At Roosevelt Island’s Coler Hospital, nurses had to care for patients without power, heat, and hot water. Now their hospital is being powered by a heavy-duty generator that was originally slated for the Marathon.

“For many, unfortunately, relief came a little too late. Sandy’s aftermath underscores the need for a truly responsive public healthcare system in New York City,” said Gonzalez.

New York nurses and NYSNA will continue to organize emergency medical relief teams as long as the crisis and recovery lasts.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is New York’s largest professional association and union for registered nurses. The association represents registered nurses, and some all-professional bargaining units, in New York and New Jersey. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

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