Emergency preparedness plan works
Quality care top priority for nurses during blackout

By DEBORAH A. MILES
The mass power outage that affected more than 50 million people on Thursday, August 14 made people wonder if another terrorist attack was happening. Members from many agencies fled home, thousands by foot, as transportation came to a halt in and around Manhattan.

But PEF members at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn along with other nurses across the state stayed at their jobs.

This is just one example among the thousands of PEF members who are dedicated and professional.

“At first we thought it was a temporary shut-down,” said Division 198 leader Joy Fletcher. “After a few minutes, there was this silence and we realized it was widespread. The whole city was without power.”

Fletcher said the hospital’s emergency plan was activated and none of the 300 patients suffered any incident.

“Our nurses responded,” she said. “They were willing to stay and others volunteered to come in. We really showed our commitment to providing the highest level of care that the public expects from us.”

The hospital was without power for six hours. During that time, PEF nurses safely transported all the premature babies to other units. Nurses also stepped-up to the plate when the dialysis unit lost power.

“When the kidney machines shut-down, nurses made sure the patients were attended to and rinsed them out with a manual setup,” she said.

“Our emergency preparedness plan worked for us and our patients,” Fletcher added. “We had a command center with working phone lines in the emergency area. We were able to contact family members to let them know their loved ones were safe. The practice drills we have once a month really prepared us.”

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PEF ready for many challenges ahead
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Health Benefits: Enrollees’ costs rising
PEF Membership Benefits & Travel Corp

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We will never forget...9-11-01
The Trustees Report '03 Convention
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DOCS members Privatization Buster
Phipps wins 2003 DeBow scholarship
Nurses respond to blackout
Closings of VA hospitals spur action
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MVP to serve 3 more counties in ’04
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