OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifty registered nurses will board a special charter flight in Oakland early Thursday for a volunteer humanitarian relief mission to the storm ravaged Gulf Coast -- the latest in a series of relief delegations dispatched by the California Nurses Association (CNA) and the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) to Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
With Thursday's flight, CNA/NNOC will have sent some 170 RNs into the eye of the storm to provide desperately needed medical care, comfort, and hope to patients and families affected by the disaster. Thursday's trip marks the largest single delegation.
The special charter flight Thursday was arranged and sponsored by California State Treasurer Phil Angelides in response to a broad appeal from CNA/NNOC for assistance in getting nurse volunteers to the hurricane zone. The plane leaves from a private airstrip in Oakland, CA and lands in Baton Rouge, LA. What: Special Charter Flight of RNs to Provide Humanitarian Disaster Relief Event: Press Conference, 6:30 a.m., Thursday, September 15th Where: 8735 Earhart Rd., adjacent to Oakland Airport On the tarmac in front of the charter plane (press box provided)
Most of the RNs on the flight are headed to Earl K. Long Medical Center in Baton Rouge, LA, where many storm victims have been sent. Others are expected to go to Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula, Miss., and to a medical shelter set up on the campus of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA.
CNA Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro today, expressed thanks to Treasurer Angelides for sponsoring the charter flight. She paid tribute to the 120 RNs who have already gone and the 50 traveling Thursday. "These heroic RNs are not just on the scene, they are saving lives, healing patients, connecting families, uplifting the spirit of the community and the staff who are worn down after too many nights and days of unimaginable conditions."
"As Americans it is our duty to assist those in need, and here in our own country there is no greater need than in the hurricane- and flood- ravaged areas of the Gulf Coast," said Treasurer Angelides. "The 50 nurses departing for Baton Rouge today, prepared to give selflessly of their time and their skills, bring great pride to California and our nation. I wish them all the best as they embark on this heroic effort."
CNA is also requesting additional support for the RN relief effort. Donors can make tax deductible donations on line at www.calnurses.org or call 888-397-0346.
California Nurses AssociationCONTACT: Shum Preston, +1-510-273-2276 or Charles Idelson, +1-510-273-2246or cell, +1-415-559-8991, both for California Nurses Association
Web site: http://www.calnurses.org/
