SAN FRANCISCO A team of five people from RN Response Network (RNRN) four RNs and a staff person flew to Manila last Nov. 14 to help in the ongoing relief efforts in the calamity areas in Eastern and Central Visayas after Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) tore through the region with storm surges, rain and damaging winds.
The team, composed of Joseph Catindig, RN; Marti Smith, RN; Jan Rodolfo, RN; Michelle Gutierrez Vo,RN; and Clytie Causing, will meet with their local counterparts in the calamity-stricken areas, and set the groundwork for the next groups of volunteers who will go to the region. The group will also join in providing direct medical support whenever possible.
Nurses from local hospitals were present at the San Francisco International Airport, as well as State Assemblymember Rob Bonta, who is of Filipino heritage, to show their appreciation to their colleagues and send the nurses off.
Prior to their departure, the nurses and officials from RNRN had the opportunity to meet with local media.
“It’s going to be a lot of coordination,” Catindig, who lives in Hercules. “I was prepared to be in the frontline, prepared to give care… but our assessment work is important. We will try to talk to the right people.”
Catindig says he thinks he is emotionally prepared to see the damaged areas. “There’s a level of comfortability because it’s the Philippines. Maybe if it were in another country, I would be nervous. But I am coming back to a familiar place.”
Of his decision to go fly back to the Philippines on such short notice, Catindig remarked, “It’s an obligation for me to help my fellow Filipinos, and the best way I can is to give nursing care. I can give a hundred dollars, or even a thousand, but for me giving care is priceless.”
Michelle Gutierrez Vo, on the other hand, says she prepared for this trip by trying to eat nutritious food and resting.
However, she says, nothing will prepare her for what she expects to see in the typhoon-ravaged areas. Gutierrez-Vo is glad to get this opportunity to help the calamity victims.
“As a nurse, a mother and a woman, it is terrible to watch on TV and feel helpless,” she told reporters present. “It is nice to be able to go there, assess the situation and help in strategy-making. I am honored to be part of this first team going to the Philippines.”
Marti Smith, who took part in relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti earthquake, said they will assess the needs of the community, and will be in the Philippines for as long as they are needed.
“This group has skills that will have a direct impact on Filipinos in the affected areas,” she said.
This was seconded by Jan Rodolfo who told reporters that as nurses who are trained to advocate for the community, they will assess needs and problem-solve.
“We will meet with NGOs and community groups,” she said. “We will do it in a smart way so as not to disrupt the relief efforts in the affected areas.”
According to Bonnie Castillo, who is Director of RN Response Network, their call for assistance for the calamity victims via their network and other nurses organizations like National Nurses United and California Nurses Association, has been met with overwhelming support.
“Nurses from over 15 states and 50 countries want to volunteer,” she revealed. “Of course, we want to send more nurses but we want to have a clearer picture of the situation. We are told that there are difficulties with transportation and communications. We want to be able to know where to stage a deployment area and go from there. We want to avoid what happened in Haiti where so many volunteers came to help and added to the problem because of the limited resources available.”
State Assemblymember Rob Bonta, for his part, said he started making calls to many groups after he learned of the devastation in the Visayas region, and one of the first to answer his call was the RN Response Network with whom he has had a strong working relationship in the past.
“Normally, when there’s a disaster, most people flee. But these nurses are going to the disaster zone to help,” he said. “It’s very inspiring, what they are doing… we are very thankful for their efforts.”
Bonta is advising people who want to help that donating cash would present the most flexible in terms of assistance.
“Cash can be turned into assistance immediately,” Bonta explained. “Besides, responders say this is the best thing to give.”
Earlier last week, Assemblymember Bonta, Assembly Speaker John Perez and State Senate Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg urged Californians to support relief efforts for stricken areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda.
Castillo herself issued an appeal for more donations to their organization, RN Response Network, via their website, www.RNResponseNetwork.org or via https://donate.nationalnursesunited.org/page/contribute/send_a_nurse, as they anticipate sending more nurses to the stricken areas, as well as medication and supplies.
“One hundred percent goes to the cause,” she said. “We will be doing fundraisers because we expect this to be a long-term project of the group.”
(www.asianjournal.com)
(San Francisco November 22-28, 2013 Sec A pg.1)