Crossne
t
work
Journal
November 12, 2005
Page
46
Leslie Van Dover, PhD, PN, RN
Professor, School of Nursing
Azusa Pacific University
701 E. Foothill Blvd.
Azusa, CA 91702
Phone: (626) 815-5378
Fax: (626) 815-5414
Email:
lvandover@apu.edu
Glenkirk Church, Glendora, CA
Nursing
Article
After the Storm: Nursing in the
Wake of Hurricane Katrina
The TV news reveals flooded neighborhoods and people waiting
for rescue from rooftops. Some are so desperate for food and water that
they break in and ransack local stores. A woman, her face twisted in
anguish, cries out for her missing family. Rumors of civil unrest are
mixed in with the truth. Images from the past three days run together in
a blur; the contrast between the destruction along the Gulf of Mexico
and my safe, comfortable life as an academic in sunny California could
not be greater! Something is different about this disaster. I can hardly
believe it is happening here, in America. Before bed, my husband and I
talk about what we should do to help. Everything we think of seems too
little.
Thursday morning, September 1, dawns clear and bright. Our fall
School of Nursing faculty retreat is at a local golf club. The serenity of
the grounds, with birds twittering in the soft light and dew sparkling on
the grass, provides an oasis, a quiet place to think and plan before
