Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/229749
Letter from the Council of Presidents the big news from this last month has been, beyond a doubt, the incredible work of Registered Nurse Response Network (RNRN), a project of National Nurses United, in quickly coordinating RN volunteers to go to the Philippines to provide medical care after the country was hit by what some weather scientists call the worst typhoon to ever make landfall. Entire sections of the islands that make up the Philippines archipelago have almost been swept bare. People are without water, food, shelter, equipment, medicine, or any way to make a living or take care of their families. Within hours, RNRN was signing up RN volunteers and assembling a team to assess the situation on the ground, a feat made possible by the great work of one of our senior staff leaders, Bonnie Castillo, RN. The first advance team left within a week and scouted out where our nurses were most needed and could be best used. And it is times like these that reinforce the benefits of forming Global Nurses United and working together with our counterparts from around the world; because we already had an established relationship with a Philippines nurses union, the Alliance of Health Workers, we were able to assess the situation that much more quickly and effectively. Our teams are now deploying in earnest and ready to staff desperately needed clinics. Michelle Vo, an RN who was part of the advance team, reports that parents are bringing in children with fever, coughs, pneumonia, NATIONAL NURSE,™ (ISSN 2153-0386 print/ISSN 2153-0394 online) The Voice of National Nurses United, November 2013 Volume 109/9 is published by National Nurses United, 2000 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. It provides news of organizational activities and reports on developments of concern to all registered nurses across the nation. It also carries general coverage and commentary on matters of nursing practice, community and public health, and healthcare policy. It is published monthly except for dehydration, and malnutrition, and the parents are not faring much better. Thank you to the thousands of you who have already signed up or donated to the effort. We know the Philippines will be needing our help for months and perhaps years to come, and we will not fail them. Please be generous. The money we raise goes directly to sending RNs. Of course, the work of the rest of the organization continues. This past month, nurses attended a conference in Washington, D.C. where some of the world's best minds gathered to discuss the movement for a global sales tax on financial transactions, known as a Robin Hood Tax. One of the proposed uses for the funds from these taxes would be to fight climate change, a phenomenon fueling extreme weather events, say scientists. Many NNU nurses across the country are also celebrating contract victories, and the Massachusetts nurses have reached their phenomenal goal of 200,000 signatures for two ballot initiatives that will establish safe RN-to-patient staffing ratios and increase the financial transparency of state hospitals. It has been quite a year, and 2013 is not even over yet. Deborah Burger, RN | Karen Higgins, RN | Jean Ross, RN National Nurses United Council of Presidents combined issues in January and February, and July and August. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California. POSTMASTER: send address changes to National Nurse, 2000 ™ Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. To send a media release or announcement, fax (510) 663-0629. National Nurse™ is carried on the NNU website at www.nationalnursesunited.org. For permission to reprint articles, write to Editorial Office. To subscribe, send $40 ($45 foreign) to Subscription Department. Stay connected www.facebook.com/NationalNurses @RNmagazine, @NationalNurses FLICKR: www.flickr.com/nationalnursesunited YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/NationalNursesUnited DIGITAL MAGAZINE: NationalNurseMagazine.org FACEBOOK: TWITTER: Please contact us with your story ideas They can be about practice or management trends you've observed, or simply something new you've encountered in the profession. They can be about one nurse, unit, or hospital, or about the wider landscape of healthcare policy from an RN's perspective. They can be humorous, or a matter of life and death. If you're a writer and would like to contribute an article, please let us know. You can reach us at nationalnurse@nationalnursesunited.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR RoseAnn DeMoro EDITOR Lucia Hwang GRAPHIC DESIGN Jonathan Wieder COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Charles Idelson CONTRIBUTORS Gerard Brogan, RN, Hedy Dumpel, RN, JD, Jan Rabbers, Donna Smith, David Schildmeier, Ann Kettering Sincox PHOTOGRAPHY Jaclyn Higgs, Tad Keyes, Erin FitzGerald