Impact of Hurricane Sandy on Hospitals
Many recall the dramatic images of nurses at New York University's Langone Medical Center (NYULMC) heroically evacuating over three hundred patients, carrying many including the youngest and most vulnerable down flights of stairs during the power outage resulting from the storm surge generated by Hurricane Sandy.
Now, a recent study by researchers at the New York University Colleges of Nursing (NYUCN) and of Dentistry (NYUCD), published in The Journal of Urban Health examines the impact on NYULMC nurses' post-Sandy deployment to help address patient surge in eight local hospitals and health facilities that had not been as affected by the storm.
The mixed method study, "Challenges of Nurses' Deployment to Other New York City Hospitals in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy," is one of only a few to evaluate the psychological toll on nurses working in such rapidly changing, uncontrolled, and potentially dangerous circumstances. The researchers conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with a sample of 16 nurses, reflecting the diversity of practice areas, nursing experience, and organizational role in the disaster. Subsequently, 528 NYULMC nurses completed an on-line quantitative survey about their Hurricane Sandy experiences. The study identified multiple challenges associated with the post-evacuation deployment to other area hospitals.
"We found that more than half of the deployed nurses surveyed (54%) characterized their deployment as extremely or very stressful, and many of these nurses remained on these interim assignments for up to two months," said lead author Nancy Van Devanter, DrPH, RN, EdM, FAAN, an associate professor at NYUCN specializing in health services research.
The qualitative interviews revealed several psychosocial and practice-based challenges including: working in an unfamiliar environment; limited orientation time; legal concerns; and issues related to assignments. Only 30% of nurses surveyed thought they received a "sufficient"
Now, a recent study by researchers at the New York University Colleges of Nursing (NYUCN) and of Dentistry (NYUCD), published in The Journal of Urban Health examines the impact on NYULMC nurses' post-Sandy deployment to help address patient surge in eight local hospitals and health facilities that had not been as affected by the storm.
The mixed method study, "Challenges of Nurses' Deployment to Other New York City Hospitals in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy," is one of only a few to evaluate the psychological toll on nurses working in such rapidly changing, uncontrolled, and potentially dangerous circumstances. The researchers conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with a sample of 16 nurses, reflecting the diversity of practice areas, nursing experience, and organizational role in the disaster. Subsequently, 528 NYULMC nurses completed an on-line quantitative survey about their Hurricane Sandy experiences. The study identified multiple challenges associated with the post-evacuation deployment to other area hospitals.
"We found that more than half of the deployed nurses surveyed (54%) characterized their deployment as extremely or very stressful, and many of these nurses remained on these interim assignments for up to two months," said lead author Nancy Van Devanter, DrPH, RN, EdM, FAAN, an associate professor at NYUCN specializing in health services research.
The qualitative interviews revealed several psychosocial and practice-based challenges including: working in an unfamiliar environment; limited orientation time; legal concerns; and issues related to assignments. Only 30% of nurses surveyed thought they received a "sufficient"