Haiti Jobs

I got an email from one of the doctors who is part of the medical team a few days ago:

Hi Kim, 

I am a pediatrician and the medical director of our Haiti mission team.

I am so glad you are coming along. My last team only had one nurse and it was really tough. This time we have 4 maybe even 5, so much better.

Margie and Lynn have told me that they would like to work in the pharmacy. Margie said you like hands on jobs best. I would like to find out what you want to do as we are going to try to prepare a little to make things a little smoother. You can trade off later in the week but initally getting set up it's nice to have one person in charge of a station.

I will need a nurse to do the check in. It means taking a lot of weights and blood pressures, and other vitals as you see fit, like temps.  You would have 2 helpers.

The other station is the lab. We are going to have a little machine to check hgb/hcts and lytes/glucose with. Also lots of urine dips and preg tests. This person would also likely oversee the scabies treatments. Again 2 helpers along side.

Let me know what you think. I still need to ask Betty also what she wants to do.
Looking forward to a wonderful experience.

I wrote back with:

Actually, the lab station sounds the most interesting, but honestly I really want to be where ever I am most helpful!  I don't think that I would have any problem with either of these jobs, although I do not know French.

She answered with:

Thanks for getting back to me so quick. I talked with Bettie today and she is very happy to do the BP check in station, so you are set to be the lab RN. She lives up in Shelton so it would be hard to do the training on the i-stat machine anyways. I should be getting the machine in the mail on April 12th, and so sometime after that you and our pathologist, Julie Kingery will need to get together and figure out how to use it. I want to make sure we have all the right supplies and controls and all that. It's good to practice reading Urine dipstixs too before you go. No worries on the language. We will have Creole translators and they are very versed on telling people to pee in cups!! :) You can read about the i-stat on line at Abbot.com.

Item Donations for Haiti?

(This post is more for local people, although you non-locals are welcome to help out.)  I am in the process of gathering supplies to take to Haiti.  As I mentioned, my team leader is going to commandeer my checked luggage and most of my carry on for supplies that the Haitian people need.  All of my trip fees are for buying supplies, but it doesn't cover everything that is needed.  Therefore, if you are able to help out with supplies, let me know.

If you do want to donation, things can be either used or new.  If you have these lying around the house, great, if you want to pick up a generic bottle of acetaminophen (generic Tylenol) the next time you are at the store, even better!  All items will go directly to the Haitian people that we work with in the clinic, as well as an orphanage that is also associated with my group.

Here is a list of supplies that we still need:

nr Clinic:

washclothes (for hygiene packs)

bags of all sizes (large trash, small trash, baggie, snack, etc)

clorox wipes

non-latex gloves

peanut butter

batteries- all sizes

adult multi vitamins with and w/o iron (UNOPENED)

children's multi vitamins with and w/o iron (no gummy, they melt, also UNOPENED)

Tylenol (generic or regular, UNOPENED)

paper towels

For MTM orphanage:

combs & brushes for black hair

skin lotion

hair cream-with a tar or sulfur base if possible, these tend to repel scabbies

deodorant/antiperspirant

bath towels

kitchen towels/bar rags work best & are less expensive, can be bleached

underclothes & socks

pj type clothing

misc. clothing in good condition, modest (boys sizes 7-12, girls sizes 7-16)

accessories are always welcome-belts, purses, ties, hair foo foos, etc.

As I said, you can just give these things to me (either at work or at home) or if you are feeling really ambitious you could mail me the things if you live far away (although it would probably just be either to send me a check and a list of what you want me to buy.)

Three Things....

OK, the first thing is an earthquake update.  I was listening to this guy on the radio who was talking about earthquakes and tsunamis on the west coast.  His interviewer asked him about tsunami warning systems, and how people would know if there is a wave coming after an earthquake.

His answer: if the ground shakes, that IS your warning.  If an earthquake stikes the west coast, a tsunami WILL follow.  South coast has about 10 minutes until the wave hits, north coast has a little more time, about 20 minutes.  He suggested that you get about 80 feet up, more if possible.  If you don't know what 80 feet looks like, then right after a earthquake is not the time to find out.

The second is an update on my trip to Haiti.  This lady that I am going with is insanely organized.  She is bringing food.  She brings supplies.  Scrubs are already there.  There are books and a computer there.  She even has toothbrushes.  "What should I bring?" I asked her.  "Nothing, really", she admitted.  Of course, she is claiming my entire checked bag quota (and part of my carry-on bag) for medical supplies going there, and I will have to stuff my nothing into whatever is left.  I have my ticket and so this is looking like a go.

The third thing is that I MAY be playing flute at the Waypost on 4/6 at 7:30pm.  I will probably be playing as a part of Classical Revolution PDX.  I am hoping that I will be playing  Bach's Andante from Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major with three other flutes, which will sound near but not quite like this:

(Yes, there is a lot of uncertainty in this announcement.  But if you get there and I don't play, then you are probably better off.)

Only [NOT] in the US

Could you imagine the president of a major company in America personally apologising to those that were affected by his company? 

 This picture is from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42144324.  The caption reads:

Norio Tsuzumi, vice president of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), left, apologizes to evacuees at an evacuation center in Tamura, Fukushima prefecture, March 22. Public sentiment is such that Fukushima's governor Yuhei Sato rejected a meeting offered by the president of Tepco, the utility that runs the Fukushima nuclear plant. "Considering the anxiety, anger and exasperation being felt by people in Fukushima, there is just no way for me to accept their apology," said Gov. Sato on national broadcaster NHK.

If this were America, not only would the mayor take the companies apology (and probably his campaign finance contributions), the company and the mayor would probably band together to place all the blame on the opposite political party.

Please consider Donating to Japan.  They are doing all they can to try to help themselves, but this disaster is too big for anyone to handle alone.

Earthquake readiness

So, my housemate found a video of some geologist that is claiming that due to a perfect storms of tides and full moons and equinoxes (equini?) the "big one" is going to hit this Saturday.  As the picture shows, I ran right out to the store, and I feel pretty prepared:



In all seriousness, if there is a big one, check here: Safe And Well.  I will put myself on the site, if anyone cares.

Here is the video.  Imminent earthquake?  Decide for yourself.  Before you panic, keep in mind that this is Fox News that we are talking about:

   

Music for All?

I attened a "Brown Bag" at the Old Church in Portland.  As the name implies, the Old Church is the oldest church building in Portland.  However, the name is misleading as it is actually no longer a church.  It is not a nonprofit that houses weddings, concerts, and other gatherings.  It is a beautiful place, and they will hold free noontime Wenesday concerts that I love to attend.  This week, we heard David Rothman, who presented us with many lovely Chopin pieces.  A list of their concerts can be found here.

They announced that the concert was going to be taped, and requested that we remain silent between movements, only clapping when the piece was completely finished.  I wondered why live concerts were taped like this, rather then just taping in a controlled environment.  I guessed that it probably had something to do with the energy of the player or something like that.

A few minutes into the concert, a few people came in.  The newcomers were obviously a group of people who were developmentally disabled, with two escorts.  They had to come in through the handicapped door due to the fact that one of them was in a wheelchair, and that door was at the front of the room, so everyone was staring at them.  I glanced at the microphones, and thought to myself that this wasn't going to go well.

About five minuets after they showed up, one of the members gave a long, loud moan.  Everyone's head spun around at the sound, mine included.  The person who had made the noise was smiling and clapping his hands siliently in joy at the music, and the room glowered at him.  I smiled, but I saw that a lot of people were troubled and a few were angry.

The pianist was one of them.  After the song, he asked if there was a noise.  One of the audience members pointed out the group and said that it was them.  There was an uncomfortable silence, then one of the escorts led the noisemaker away.

I felt so terrible for him.  Although I understood that the tape of the concert was probably ruined (at least for that song) I wondered if the audience and the pianist realized just how vital it was for the young man who was kicked out to attend a concert like this.  If it was so important to get a good tape, then they should have made this clear prior to the concert to make sure that people who were not able to listen silently would not show up.    Maybe the man who left didn't understood why he was leaving, or maybe he did and was sad, hurt, or even humiliated.  I wouldn't be surprised if the small part of the concert gave him just as much joy as the rest of the people listening, perhaps even more.  The disabled are marginalized, removed from societal, and rarely able to attend an event like that.  It was wrong for him to leave.

Anything helps

I was driving to work the other day when I saw a guy holding a sign asking for money standing by the road.

Now that isn't a strange thing in Portland.  At almost every busy corner, stoplight and stop sign, there are homeless people holding signs.

What was odd about this guy is that he was standing at the end of a freeway on-ramp.  You know, the part where you have just accelerated to the speed of the expressway and you are getting ready to merge.  He was standing right where the expressway meets the ramp.

He was holding a sign that stated "VETERAN, ANYTHING HELPS, GOD BLESS".

And as I zoomed by him at 50 mph I couldn't help but think, "Well, that explains why we haven't left Iraq yet."

Micheal Bay Meets Japan

I can't believe the pictures that are coming out of Japan.  It's like the entire area was the set for some lame Micheal Bay movie.  The most dramatic pictures that I have found are here.

Please consider donating aid if you can.  I, of course, recommend the Red Cross, and you can donate directly to Japan here.

Going to Haiti!

I will be travelling to Haiti this April!

I will be in Haiti from April 25th through May 3rd.  I am very excited about this opportunity!  This will be the first medical trip that I will be making as a nurse, I am going to be using some of the money that my father left me to fund the trip.  I would like to think that he would be proud of what I am doing.

I will be travelling with a group of people to work in a clinic.  The clinic is run by Mountaintop Ministries.  I found out about this through another RN at the Red Cross who is also going.

I have added a personal goal of not getting arrested in this particular country.

Stay tuned!