Later in the show, “Is Anybody Out There Laughing?”…oh my, we got some work to do pilgrims! America is not laughing as much as we need to be, so Casey and Dan are out to change that one call at a time. Lo and behold…Nurse Talk’s Maggie McDermott ends up on the segment talking about her pink slip.

Dr. Gail Altschuler

Don’t forget on March 28 Dr. Gail Altschuler will be with us taking your questions about weight loss and health. Call this week with your questions for the doctor and we will answer them on the air. Call 1.800.977.1863 or email pattie@nursetalksite.com.

You can listen to Nurse Talk every Sunday at 2PM PST on Green 960AM or live stream at www.green960.com. You can also download and listen anytime on iTunes, or stream at NurseTalkSite.com, EnergyTalkRadio.com and TheRadioFactory.com.

Until next week remember “laughter is the best medicine“

Also with us during our “Is Anybody Out There Laughing?” segment is RN Deb Gauldin. Deb is a power house and loves to laugh. She’s a musician and humorist has a cartoon and column, Deb’s Last Laugh in the Journal of Perinatal Education.

Square Needle, “News” and most times our views, Phobia of the Week and some email questions and calls.

ARE YOU STRUGGLING WITH YOUR WEIGHT? Well, tune in to Nurse Talk March 28th as we feature Dr. Gail Altschuler. Gail owns the Altschuler Clinic for Wellness and Weight Loss in Novato California. She has some great practical advice for weight loss and health. Gail will be taking your questions, so call or email before March 19 and we will have her answer your questions on the air. 1.800.977.1863 or pattie@nursetalksite.com.

Listen laugh and learn with Nurse Talk every Sunday at 2PM on Green 960AM or live stream at www.green960.com. You can also download on Itunes, Nursetalksite.com and Energytalkradio.com….

Until next time…….remember laughter is the best medicine!

Seven of California’s biggest insurance companies rejected on average more than one-fourth of all payment claims in the second half of 2009, according to new data just released by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee and its national arm, National Nurses United. Read entire article…

Nurse Dan Grady Joins Casey As Co-Host

Later in the show…Dan and Casey inaugurate a new Nurse Talk segment called “Is Anybody Out There Laughing?” What happens when you make random calls and ask if people are laughing? Oh…let’s just say you really have to listen to the show to find out.

Allison McDermott from Fireburndoctor.com checks in again. Just to remind you Nurse Talk does not necessarily endorse or subscribe to some of the opinions or practices we feature on the show…but we find this very interesting and worth a look.

The Square Needle goes to a California political candidate, the Phobia of the Week goes viral and Casey and Dan answer email questions from our listeners.

For those of you living in Northern California, Marin County to be exact…watch for our announcement of Nurse Talk Live. That’s right, we may be coming to a venue near you and I can promise you won’t want to miss it. Great guests, complimentary coffee and pastries and that’s just for starters.

And last, we want to introduce our latest online radio partner, The Radio Factory. Nurse Talk can now be heard anytime at www.theradiofactory.com. Don’t forget our good friends at Energytalkradio.com and you can always listen to our podcasts at www.nursetalksite.com.

Every Sunday 2PM/PST on Green 960 AM San Francisco and live-stream at www.green960.com…

Until next time, remember, “laughter is the best medicine.”

February 2, 2010 was the beginning of what would be the most exciting and rewarding experience that I have ever been involved in. A little over 24hours prior, I had learned of my deployment to Haiti. I felt so honored to be one of three nurses from National Nurses United/RN Response Network to have been chosen to be a part of Operation Unified Response on board the USNS Comfort Navy Ship. I quickly packed my bags, filled out paperwork, got the necessary injections, and left San Francisco at 6am that morning to head to Jacksonville, Florida. This is where I met the incredible people with whom I would share this experience. We were greeted by the United States Navy, and from day 1 until the end, they could not have been more gracious and grateful. They went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect for us.

After a briefing from the Navy the next morning, we flew from the Naval Base in Jacksonville to Port au Prince, where we arrived at dark. The town looked horrifying with people living in the streets and in whatever shelter they could throw together with sheets, boxes, etc. Rubble littered the dark streets and there were small fires everywhere, which may have been used for cooking or just to have some light. Some speculated they may be burning bodies. The scene was surreal and quite unsettling, and I was happy our bus was guarded at the door by US military staff with guns.

We arrived at the ship by small boats. We were then assigned a place to sleep, filled out paperwork, had a late dinner and got to bed in time for a few hours of sleep before getting up to start our first full day. After breakfast and an orientation we started working! During this two weeks, I had never seen so many broken bones and such traumatic injuries. Fractures of the pelvis, tibia, fibula, femur, ulna, radius, hand, humerus, talus, spine, condylar fractures, and facial fractures.

People had been waiting for weeks to have their surgeries. At this point, the fractures were healing which made them more difficult to fix. There were numerous pressure sores from people being stuck under the rubble for so long. There were head injuries, amputations, and many debridements. Many bones were crushed, infections were setting in, and there were multiple bring-backs. Some people had multiple broken bones. Tuberculosis and tetanus were seen. People had been paralyzed.

There was also a trickling in of injuries unrelated to the earthquake, from car accidents, a kid falling out of a mango tree, and things of this sort. There were many children as well as adults.

One kid who stood out in my mind had been found in an orphanage after the earthquake all by himself and had a huge tumor on his eye. They did not know his name or age and called him “John”. They think he was around age 10. He couldn’t walk or talk and someone drove him by motorcycle to a Haitian hospital before he was flown to the ship. He wanted to bump fists with everyone he saw and it was touching to see him happy despite what he had been through.

There was a 12 year old girl with a crushed tibia who came back for surgery multiple times and showed unimaginable strength. The translators were trying to get in touch with her father to let him know where she was. One guy in his 20’s came in with his arm hanging off and through it all he continued to wear a huge smile on his face.

Some people had to choose between amputation or death because of gangrene. Some chose death. One middle-aged woman who needed her arm amputated refused to speak after an amputation was mentioned, and she was brought to the OR many times for debridements and trying to save her arm.

There were many stories and its tough to imagine what these people have endured. Some have lost family members and friends. Many were malnourished. People were in terrible pain. Its not easy thinking about what will happen to these people when they leave the ship to go back to the island. Some will need a lot of follow-up care, and I can’t help but wonder if they will get it. Where will they live, what will they eat, who will take care of them? These are the questions that plague me.

The two weeks went fast, and I didn’t feel ready to leave. I wanted to do more.

On the way back to the airport, we saw Port au Prince during the day. People seemed to be moving on with their lives as best as they could, kids were playing and looked happy. Their resilience is unreal. My heart goes out to the Haitians. This was an experience I would not trade for the world.

Lauren Aichele, RN

Lauren Aichele has been an operating room nurse for 14 years and is currently employed by University of California San Francisco Medical Center at Mt. Zion Hospital. She was previously a traveling nurse in the operating room and has worked at Indiana University Medical Center, New York University Medical Center, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Sandra Falwell, NP

This week we welcome D.C. based nurse practitioner and activist Sandra Falwell. This is a great conversation, as Sandra has been in the profession for 40 years and shares some AMAZING stories about the “good ol days” or not so “good ol days” when she was once asked to give up her chair for a doctor. This was after a 14 hour shift, 27 patients and 4 codes. Tune-in for her answer to his question aka…DEMAND.

Nieca Goldberg, MD

DR NIECA GOLDBERG IS with us for Women’s Heart Health Month. She poses the question: Is STRESS KILLING US OR IS IT SALT? Dr. Goldberg has written the Complete Guide To Women’s Health and has agreed to be Nurse Talk’s resident Heart Health Specialist.

AND check out “Flip Flops For Haiti” at www.jclfund.org. Kim Whitehurst, President of the Jeanie C. Linders Fund tells us about this great and simple way to help.

Steve Curtain from Nurse Together will check in with us. Nurse Together is a hot site for RNs, a “virtual lounge” if you will. It is one of the most comprehensive and resourceful sites we have seen. For more information go to www.nursetogether.com.

On our February 28th show we will talk with three RNs just back from Haiti. These nurses are part of an effort (sendanurse.org) sponsored by the RN Response Network and National Nurses United. Please join us for this exclusive interview.

Donations are still needed for Send A Nurse and 100% of the proceeds go to travel and supplies for the nurses to treat the Haitian people. Go to www.sendanurse.org or www.NationalNursesUnited.org

You can hear us in the San Francisco Bay Area every Sunday at 2PM on Green 960 AM or live streaming at green960.com. Nurse Talk is also available on demand on Energy Talk Radio at www.energytalkradio.com. Podcasts of the CNA segments are linked at www.calnurses.org or www.nursetalksite.com.

Coming Up This Week On Nurse Talk…Casey invites Dan Grady to join her as guest co-host and together…well …they giggle through the show. Dan is a Hospice Nurse and loves to laugh, share his experiences and express his opinions…sounds like someone else we know.

Casey talks with Nurse Practitioner, Kevin Barrett. Kevin has a Master of Science in Nursing and for the last eight years, has hosted a cable access TV show called AIDS. It is an interactive program that allows the community to ask nurses questions that deal with prevention, treatment and care of sexually transmitted diseases. KEVIN WORKS AT CHICAGO’S COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL AND RECENTLY ATTENDED THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON SHAPING GLOBAL HIV AND AIDS WORKPLACE POLICIES. HE HAS MORE THAN A DECADE OF EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH Persons with HIV/AIDS.

And Casey and Dan visit with Chip Lutz, a former Navel Officer (with a sense of humor!) CHIP CURRENTLY SERVES ON THE BOARD OF THE Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH). HE IS GOING TO TALK ABOUT THEIR FABULOUS UPCOMING 23rd Annual Conference.

Dan’s lovely mother Rita gets in on the act and helps the nurses (she just happens to be one) answer email questions.

Listen To Nurse Talk every Sunday at 2PM/PST on Green 960 AM or live stream at www.green960.com, Energytalkradio.com and nursetalksite.com on demand.

WATCH FOR NEW AND EXCITING CHANGES COMING YOUR WAY!! And, please welcome our new strategic partner Nurse Together.

From our friends at National Nurses United: Join your fellow RNs, National Nurses United members, and the Registered Nurse Response Network on an emergency mission to help Haiti. “All of the hospitals are packed with people. It is a catastrophe,” said, President René Préval of Haiti to the New York Times. HOW CAN YOU HELP?

The Registered Nurse Response Network (RNRN) is a national network of direct-care RNs that coordinates sending volunteer RNs to disaster stricken areas wherever and whenever they are needed most. RNRN was organized in 2005 when Katrina and Rita — two of the most destructive hurricanes in history — dramatically exposed America’s flawed disaster relief system.

Through RNRN, we hope to send experienced RNs to provide emergency medical support to Haitians who are dire need of medical care. “We are calling on nurses throughout the U.S. to join us in this critical effort,” said National Nurses United (NNU) Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro.

*RNs VOLUNTEER ONLINE HERE

*MAKE SECURE ONLINE DONATIONS HERE
Or – Make checks payable to:
California Nurses Foundation
2000 Franklin St. Oakland, CA 94612
(Donations are secure, and tax-deductible to the extent of the law)

* CALL THE RNRN HOTLINE (800) 578-8225

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Currently, telephone communication is down, and internet communication is sporadic. Aftershocks continued well through the night until approximately 3:00 o’clock this morning. Infrastructure damage is significant; the National Palace has collapsed, and the National Cathedral, many buildings have been severely damaged.

All RNs will need to have a valid passport. Also, all RNs must have or be able to quickly get, Typhoid and Hepititals A and B vaccinations as well as Malaria pills.

“I tried to volunteer with at least half a dozen relief agencies who said they needed nurses in the region without success. It was a matter of days after contacting [RNRN] that I arrived in my assigned hospital in Baton Rouge. The hospital was in dire need of nurses as a result of getting the bulk of medical evacuees from New Orleans, which resulted in a doubling of their census overnight. Ten minutes after my arrival, I had a nursing license in Louisiana, changed into scrubs, and went to work.”

- Gulf Volunteer Diane Dengate, RN of Detroit, Michigan

National Nurses United
2000 Franklin Street
Oakland, Calif. 94612
www.NationalNursesUnited.org

The Registered Nurse Response Network, a national network of direct-care RNs, coordinates sending volunteer RNs to disaster stricken areas. Through RNRN, National Nurses United is sending experienced RNs to provide emergency medical support to Haiti.

“We are calling on nurses throughout the U.S. to join us in this critical effort.” said NNU’s Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro. Your charitable contributions will be used to pay for travel/related costs and supplies for volunteer RNs.

SEND A NURSE TO HAITI BENEFIT FUNDRAISER
SATURDAY, JANUARY 30TH, 7PM
National Nurses United / California Nurses Foundation
Dear Friends,

Several weeks ago our friends at the RN Response Network and National Nurses United put out a call to RNs to volunteer to help in Haiti. As of this date over 11,000 nurses have signed up but the challenge remains to get them there safely and in time to meet the critical needs of the Haitian people. They need money to cover the costs of travel, medical supplies and fresh drinking water. Nurse Talk wants to help.

Please help us help people in desperate need. Join us “virtually” from the comfort of your home on Saturday, January 30 @ 6-8PM/PST as we live stream our version of a telethon at www.nursetalksite.com—which will not feature any big named artists—Madonna, George Clooney, Sting, Beyonce—–but Bay Area broadcaster Peter B. Collins will be with us along with Casey Hobbs, RN Host of Nurse Talk…and a few other surprises.

You can call during the telethon at 1.888.573.8372 and you will speak to one of the Nurse Talk celebrities—well, someone will pick up the phone and be very grateful that you called. If you can’t join us, you can still help by going to www.sendanurse.org to make a donation.

This is an opportunity to know your contribution will have a direct impact on those who need it the most. Your donations are tax deductible.

Thank you for your time and support…

Sincerely,

Pattie Lockard
Executive Producer
Nurse Talk
www.nursetalksite.com
pattie@nursetalksite.com

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Other ways you can help:

1) Volunteer: NationalNursesUnited.com
2) Fundraiser: Send a Nurse Fundraiser, January 30th
3) Donate: RNRN/NNU, c/o California Nurses Foundation, 2000 Franklin St.,
Oakland, CA 94612 or online at SendANurse.org

RNRN is a project of the California Nurses Foundation, a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit. Donations are secure, and tax-deductible to the extent of the
law.