Al: I can't find the first post I started. So here it is again
Officials did not act on behalf of poor, ill

Your views
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LETTER
Bill Shipp surely has touched some nerves. If not, we have some true nonhumans in this state government of ours. I believe most of the country is disgusted with the ineptness of the management of the evacuation before and the aftermath of Katrina.
Who had the ignorant idea to place so many people in that Superdome to begin with? That just was not using common sense! What if the Superdome had been completely destroyed and thousands more lives lost? Anyone with any sense would know the risks of placing that many people in one area even under the best of conditions for only a few days.
Many who were forced into that Dome were alcoholics and addicts who were probably suffering severe, life-threatening withdrawals. No one needs to think that only the poor are drug addicts and alcoholics.
Many of those who were able to leave in their beautiful automobiles and SUVs will also suffer alcohol and drug withdrawal. The big difference is that they were able to get the medical attention that all people deserve.
Those who were in need of dialysis were often mentioned as well as the diabetics going without food. It is a miracle that the babies in that Superdome did not die from dehydration. Babies and the elderly can become dehydrated quickly.
I hope that all of those who are screaming to make panhandling illegal realize that they could be left with nothing. Look at those in New Orleans who were able to get out. Most have only the clothes they were wearing or the little that they were able to pack into their cars. They now have no job, no place to live, nothing. They, too, could have to resort to panhandling perhaps after enjoying so many luxuries. The SUV will probably have to go.
With a mandatory evacuation order it is obvious that the hurricane was going to be severe. Were those with no transportation and no money to go on foot?
Did anyone consider the homeless or the mentally ill? Maybe this is a lesson to those in charge. I hope the next time such a catastrophe is known to be on its way that preparations are made. There is no reason why that in the event of a needed evacuation that buses or trains cannot be brought in to help the weakest get out. All should know the Bible verse that refers to what is done to the weakest is done to God.
It is also obvious to all that no one knows how to handle the aftermath. It is disgusting the mistakes that have been made such as sending a plane full of medically fragile people to Charleston, W. Va., and calling Charleston, S.C., to prepare for them. The tales of ineptness go on and on, including the DMAT team from Georgia that was shuffled from city to city helping no one.
There is an answer to all of this; next time put nurses in charge. Nurses know how to prioritize and delegate as well as to treat everyone with compassion and caring.
Virginia Singer
Gainesville
Originally published Sunday, September 11, 2005

Just whatever anyone does, please don't wish for a physician to run the country !

al, my comment was not about whether or not a doc was any good or not. they don't have the skills nurses do and for the most part are pretty much out for themselves and generally have little to no business sense.

dm, i stand corrected.

I think this is an old topic, but I'll pipe in anyhow. Who else, but a nurse, has the skills, the talents to teach the American people, to provide care: WITHOUT THE GREED, inherent in pharmaceutical, insurance, governmental, lobby industries?

The bottom line to health care, I believe, is disease PREVENTION. Who is better prepared to TEACH the public about how to PREVENT disease before the catastrophic physical, financial devastation of a chronic illness, like diabetes, strikes?

It is for this reason, I support the National Nurse Initiative, HR 4903, which was introduced in 2006 109th Congress by Lois Capps. The full text of the bill and information about it can be found at www.nationalnurse.org

I don't feel that the ANA is representative of all nurses and when I wrote an article on the National Nurse initiative, I contacted them for a comment. They did NOT feel that an Office of the National Nurse was needed, because we have the ANA to advocate for nurses.

Problem is, the National Nurse initiative is NOT a plan primarily to advocate for nurses; rather a plan to advocate for patient's and improve the general overall health of ALL Americans. It would work to assist in solving our healthcare 'crisis' by empowering patients to focus on disease prevention and physicians to focus on the same; as opposed to treating the disease once it has been diagnosed and financial ruin is in the process.

Years ago, when I attempted to speak with a rep from the ANA about something-don't remember what-they wouldn't speak with me, because I wasn't a member of the ANA.

Annie and Shelle, I too had contacted ANA in the past. I sent a letter to ANA, every nursing journal, and the specialty nursing organizations that I belonged to. ANA basically gave the impression that they were not very interested and felt they could do nothing. I sent a letter to them about the horrible commercial that Clairol ran with a "nurse" and there organic shampoo. The "nurse" had an organic experience while her patient flat lined. I sent a letter to Clairol as well. The ad was pulled. Without the help of the high and mighty ANA.

I would definitely vote for a nurse for president!!  For one thing, nurses have the biggest hearts, they can see a grungy homeless man come in to an ER with pneumonia and have enough compassion to give him the care he deserves, whether or not he can pay for it...and not look down on him for his lot in life.  They can see a baby fighting for every last breath and will use every last breath of their own to save its life.  They work with frail elderly people and instead of seeing someone with one foot in the grave, they push that person to keep every bit of independence they still have left.  They get more work piled on them than they should have and rather than complain, they prioritize and figure out ways to complete all the work, most of the time without breaking a sweat.  They listen intently to patient's families complaints and concerns, with a smile on their face, all the while the wheels are turning on how to handle the situation diplomatically.  Nurses are the eyes and ears of the doctors, without nurses, the doctors would have no idea what was going on with their patients.  It is true what "Teamrn" said:  nurses don't have to deal with the greed of pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies and the government.  Nurses do their jobs with little pay because they love what they do.  A nurse's job is to care for the whole patient:  their health, their happiness and their quality of life (whether they are rich or poor, young or old, black or white).  Isn't that what the Declaration of Independence proposed:  "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--" ?  Okay so there are my two cents...whew!

Thanks kend.