Whenever there’s a disaster, nurses respond with heroism and skill. The skills required in the nursing process – medical and scientific expertise, a level head, and an understanding of the full range of human responses to illness – are the same skills needed in disaster recovery.

NYSNA’s disaster recovery work began in the days after Hurricane Sandy, when hundreds of nurses rushed into the devastation to help out. We went door-to-door in affected areas to assess medical needs and get medical attention to people without electricity or running water. Since then, we have deployed Medical Missions to the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan; and to Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. NYSNA nurses are joining with healthcare practitioners and trade unionists as part of the New York Recovery Network (NYRN) and Healthcare Without Borders to deliver timely, compassionate care to those in need.

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WATCH THE LATEST: NYSNA's First Solidarity and Medical Mission to India

Nurses Report from Puerto Rico February 2018

WATCH THE LATEST: Nurses Report from the Virgin Islands February 2018 

NYRN Delegation to Puerto Rico January 2018

NYRN Visits the U.S. Virgin Islands

NYSNA RNs Delegation to Puerto Rico December 2017

IMG_0380_rev.jpg When Sandy Hit, We United with the Community NYNSA RNs rescued thousands of lives during and after Hurricane Sandy. At Bellevue, Coney Island, and Coler-Goldwater, we evacuated more than a thousand patients with no lights, no electricity, and no elevators. Not a single patient died or was left behind.Nurses worked with hard-hit communities in Staten Island, Red Hook, the Rockaways, and Long Island, setting up emergency field clinics and checking in door-to-door to make sure that thousands of New Yorkers with urgent medical issues received care. For more information on volunteering in ongoing relief work, click here.

NYSNA RNs, Sandy Relief in the Rockaways

NYSNA RNs, Sandy Relief in Staten Island

On volunteering in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan

mtsinai09 cropped and resized.jpg “It was tough. I’ve been on missions to the Philippines before, but never in a disaster situation… it humbled me to see so much suffering. I think the experience will help me be more patient. I received thank you letters that made me cry.” - Nella Pineda-Marcon, Mt. Sinai Hospital