Last month I traveled with other nurses and doctors to Port Au Prince, Haiti with Project Medishare, working at Bernard Mevs, the only neuro-surgical and trauma facility in the region. Project Medishare’s goal is to train Haitian doctors and nurses and to establish sustainable programs so the facility can function independently beyond the departure of expats.

Among my role as ER and Triage nurse, I was anointed “The Hysteric Whisperer.” Many teenage girls and young women came to the hospital via ambulance or private vehicle presenting in catatonic states, hyperventilating or as “post-ictal seizure” patients. We soon learned, these were anxiety/panic attacks. One teenage girl was brought, ambulance lights blazing and sirens blaring for “seizures” – but made eye contact and was purposefully moving around in the gurney – not in a post-ictal state. The doctor approached the patient and shouted, “Prepare to intubate!”

Three minutes later, I held the girl’s hands and helped her off the gurney and onto a chair. Intubation was certainly not necessary. With an astounded look on his face, the doctor asked “How did you do that? That was magic!” I replied, “Want to know the magic? I put my face down close to hers, spoke very slowly, softly and quietly into her ear, and told her ’It’s OK’ over and over and over. I pet her cheek, made eye contact and suddenly big crocodile tears began to slide out.”

The Haitian population has several factors working against them: the traumatic events of the 2010 earthquake – the country is still piecing itself together. Read more…

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Tim Thomas, RN

Continuing the RN Heroes Project, co-hosts Casey and Dan talk with RN Tim Thomas. Tim is one of over 12,000 nurses who went to Haiti as part of National Nurses United’s RN Response Network. In an effort to acknowledge these selfless acts of service, the RN Response Network launched the RN Heroes Project.READ MORE…

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Casey and Dan speak with Andrew McGuire the Executive Director of California One Care. Andrew talks about the founding coalition and the campaign that is under way to pass SB 810, State Senator Mark Leno’s legislation for Single Payer Health Insurance for ALL Californians….plus our RN Hero feature, Tim Thomas, RN plus, Casey and Dan’s usual shenanigans.READ MORE…

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CNA/NNU’s Donna Smith joins the hosts of Nurse Talk, Casey Hobbs and Dan Grady–to introduce the RN Heroes Project. Donna gives a warm introduction to the project and is followed by a conversation with Massachusetts RN Kathy Reardon. Kathy speaks with humility about her time and service in Haiti and shares some very moving comments about her experience. When asked if she thought of herself as a hero…”Not at all, I just did my job,” replies Kathy. READ MORE…

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Well, Nurse Talk does it’s own version of ALL IN THE FAMILY as Co-host Dan Grady’s mom, Rita, stops by. Lovely Rita, as we like to call her, is a retired RN now working as a full-time volunteer for the Red Cross. It seems as though the apple does not fall far from the tree—Rita is as wild and wacky as her son!This week Casey and Dan talk with RN Laurie Bahr. She sheds some light on current Pension Bargaining Efforts taking place in her state. It seems that hospitals are using the “economic downturn” to cut benefits that most RNs have been paying into for years. Laurie is active in the Minnesota Nurses Association, the organization that works to protect patients and the nurses who serve them.A quick update from RN Carol Rodgers. You may remember Carol has been heading up efforts to save San Leandro Hospital in California from closure. She has good news and will update us on recent developments. READ MORE…

2 Weeks in Haiti on the USNS Comfort
By Lauren Aichele

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…Read more…

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This Week on the Show…We have been searching for months for a perfect fit to co-host the show with Casey and we found him! Welcome Dan Grady, a hospice nurse and a very funny and talented guy too. Casey and Dan have great chemistry and we never know when he will break into his best Edith Bunker, Ted Baxter, or Elvis voice. Our guests will be nurse practitioner activist Sandra Falwell and the new Nurse Talk resident Heart Health Specialist, Nieca Goldberg, MD, as well as Steve Curtain from Nurse Together…Read More

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 YOU CAN HELP? Read more…

JOIN NURSE TALK’s Casey Hobbs and Peter B. Collins forNational Nurses United / California Nurses Foundation*SEND A NURSE TO HAITI – BENEFIT TELETHON*January 30th, LIVE at www.nursetalksite.com 6-8 pm PSTThe 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. Read more on the blog…