National Nurses United

chart labels a 70- to 74-degree dew point as "oppressive" and over 75 as "miserable." "When we arrived, no stores were open or if anything was open, you needed cash," said Venessa Soldo-Jones, an RN in the ER at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Minn. and the team lead for the first group of RNRN volunteers. "You can't get groceries without cash. There's no gas in your car, no gas to run a generator, phar- macies are closed, doctors' offices are closed." International Medical Corps, which provided logistics and com- munications in addition to its own volunteer doctors and nurses, set up a mobile medical unit (MMU) in the parking lot of a Boys & Girls Club in Port Charlotte. The MMU included several canopy tents with different functions: a check-in table, waiting areas, triage, treatment, and patient isolation for anyone with communicable illnesses. If a patient needed privacy, there was a large air-conditioned ambulance with two patient "rooms" where they could be seen by a doctor. The RNRN volunteers initially split their time between staffing the MMU and canvassing Port Charlotte neighborhoods on foot to spread the word that a medical clinic was open and tarps, water, gen- erators, and other supplies were also available. If people were unable to come to the MMU, the nurses could help get generators delivered or return to treat them. The MMU also provided Covid tests and flu and tetanus shots. As the nurses canvassed, they saw some homes with collapsed roofs and some with minimal damage as well as 22 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 W hen hurricane ian slammed into the southwest coast of Flor- ida on Sep. 28 as a Category 4 storm, its deadly winds reached 150 miles per hour. More than 4 million Floridians lost power, hospitals in the path of the destructive hurricane were severely damaged, thousands of homes were destroyed, and more than 100 people died. In the wake of the widespread devastation, nurses from the Registered Nurse Response Network (RNRN), a disaster relief project of California Nurses Foundation and National Nurses United, answered the call to work in partnership with Interna- tional Medical Corps to help the hurricane survivors in Port Charlotte and Englewood, Fla. One team of four RNRN volun- teers flew to Florida on Oct. 3 for a two-week deployment, followed by a second team of three nurses who stayed for six days. The first team of RNRN nurses began their deployment in Port Charlotte, an unincorporated Gulf Coast community of more than 60,000 people. The power was still out, a boil water notice was in effect, and the weather was sweltering. Temperatures in the high 80s, humidity in the high 90s, and dew points in the 70s made for a very muggy and hot environment. A Tampa TV station's dew point RNRN volunteers practice basic public health nursing and whatever it takes to help victims of Hurricane Ian. By Chuleenan Svetvilas Picking Up the

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