Laurie G. Combe, MN, RN, NCSN
President Elect
National Association of School Nurses
Hurricane Harvey has given the Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coast quite a week! After worrying that I had cancelled NASN travel without true cause, I learned differently very quickly. The rain that started slowly became incessant, causing the Houston airport to close for several days. We kept watch over our streets, the TV, the river and creek gauges, our front door, hoping we would not succumb to flood waters. We checked with our friends to be sure they were safe. We responded to safety inquiries from friends around the United States.
Thankfully, our home is dry and the flood waters are beginning to recede in most, if not all, of the areas impacted by Harvey. The Southeast Texas area received 24.5 trillion gallons of rain in four days ̶ more than our yearly total and a record rainfall for the continental United States. The flooding was so widespread it reportedly covered more square miles than New York City and Chicago combined. I have at least four staff members from my department whose homes and vehicles are flooded. There are an estimated 500,000 cars ruined in Houston alone. Just staggering! We have not been able to buy fruit, milk, or eggs for five days. But, we are fortunate.
Houston is not the only community suffering. Harvey has left a wide swath of devastation along the Texas Gulf Coast and now into Louisiana. Our families living in poverty will feel the brunt of lost wages, as well as inflated food and fuel prices. It is hard to fathom what the outcomes will be in six weeks, six months, a year, and beyond. Mental health is certain to be a concern.
I wonder how the flood has impacted our school staff as a whole. We plan to begin the new school year the first week of September and there are so many unknowns at this point. Will there be enough teaching and support staff? Will I have staff to provide nursing care embedded in classrooms to support medically fragile students? Will I have nurses in all school clinics?
Klein ISD opened two evacuation shelters at the request of the Red Cross. Because they were stretched so thin by the magnitude of this disaster, the Red Cross was unable to provide supplies, guidance, or staff beyond an on call psychologist. Our school district leadership met the challenge, and provided safe and efficient care for more than 400 guests. The Klein ISD Health Services staff, supported by community health provider volunteers, was amazing. I could not leave my home until August 31st, yet this staff and this community rallied to provide care. I was fortunate to have electricity without interruption to coordinate the staffing and commandeer resources through the power of technology. I was able to organize 24-hour nursing care in short order, provided primarily by Klein ISD nurses and clinic assistants. We had RNs on every shift including overnight, 11 p.m. - 7 a.m. Business partners stepped up to meet almost every supply need we had. The community heard our need for a refrigerator and it appeared within 30 minutes of the request.
We are fortunate that only one of our schools flooded, but most of the supplies in that clinic will need to be replaced. Six inches of water in a closed building for four days can wreak havoc. Do you remember your excitement at the start of the school year with your newly purchased school supplies? These students won't have those supplies now. Fortunately, a school supply donation campaign was held for their school today. Once again the Klein school community stepped up. In Klein ISD it is our vision that EVERY student will enter with a PROMISE and exit with a PURPOSE. We have learned this week that our PROMISE extends not just to students, but to and from their families as well.
Stories Woven by Harvey:
- We met folks without critical medications - insulin, Diastat, oxygen, psychotropics. We provided high quality, skilled and knowledgeable care. We wiped tears, listened, and walked the halls with our guests feeling anxious. We had to turn away a family with a special needs member – 24-hour nursing care at home, seizures, g-tube and continuous oxygen. The family had little knowledge of the required care and brought no medications, oxygen, or nurse (couldn't get to their house because of flooding). The shelter nursing staff called an ambulance. The first hospital refused to accept transport and the EMS supervisor told the shelter nurses to provide support the best they could. One of our wonderful high school nurses refused to let this family off the ambulance for fear of rapid health decline in our shelter. Finally, a local hospital accepted the family. The nurse felt badly for the family, yet advocated for appropriate care.
- I learned of an elderly couple evacuated from a nursing home. Their family lives out of town so they were brought to a friend who set them up in the absent family's now empty home, alone. They needed complex care. A school nurse colleague made a house call. Their family is having difficulty finding a safe route to Houston. Who supports this elderly couple until their family arrives?
- A family drove their infant to the grandparents so they could return to their home to prepare for flooding. The waters rose too quickly for them to get back home. Their dog most probably died in their flooded home. They are devastated.
- Our shelter took in a new Mom, c-section with a 5- day- old infant. We were afraid for the baby's health when exposed to so many people. How many guests had a current Tdap?
- Our shelter housed pets in the agricultural show barn. I was grateful Klein ISD saw the necessity of this. People will refuse to evacuate if they can’t bring their pet - and then they both perish in the flood. Sometimes guests were found sitting in the stall with their pets, two souls seeking solace from one another.
As I write this, we are setting up our flooded Lemm Elementary School in the newly opened Klein Cain Hurricanes (Irony) High School. We are hopeful for a calm start, adequate staff, and solace from the embrace of the Klein ISD Community. #KleinSpirit.
My family’s experience with Katrina tells me that this community will take years to recover. It will not always be pretty or harmonious. Our students will struggle emotionally along with their parents and extended families. The support of school nurses will be critical in the days, months, and years to come. TSNO President Lisa Sicilio posted this message, “Reports continue to come in from school nurses- most of these describe their personal loss and at the same time expressing so much concern about the students they care for at their schools. The uncertainty of not know what their clinics will look like and their ability to take care of students once the waters recede is adding to the stress and trauma they are already experiencing.”
Many have asked how they can support the students, schools, and school nurses impacted by Harvey. The Texas School Nurses Organization (TSNO) is accepting donations for the Texas School Nurse Relief Fund. J. J. Watt, revered Texans football player has organized the Houston Flood Relief Fund. The American Red Cross Hurricane Harvey Fund is another opportunity to support another opportunity to show support. These are just a few of the opportunities for you to help; a Google Search will reveal many others. If you can donate, we thank you. If you need assistance please message via the TSNO School Nurse Net Community, the TSNO Facebook page or email TSNO President, Lisa Sicilio at lsicilio.tsno@gmail.com
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful support as we begin the task of rebuilding our communities.
#HealthyCommunities