Magnet Nurses – Worldwide Leaders in Excellence
We want to capture the amazing stories of Magnet nurses helping the earthquake victims of Haiti. Please share your story with us.

Transformational Leadership

Working in Haiti, it was incredible to see the suspension of individual egos and agendas, the tossing aside of hierarchy and rank, the phenomenal togetherness of physicians and nurses all in service of a single goal: saving as many lives as possible. There was a palpable air of cooperation and a spirit of teamwork the likes of which I have never before experienced. Watching surgeons empty bedpans at 3 a.m. without complaint, and seeing physicians volunteer to collect vital signs and pass out medications overnight to support a ward that was severely understaffed by nurses are images I will never forget!

Anna Elizabeth Morrison, BA, BSN, RN
Holy Cross Hospital
Fort Lauderdale, FL

The clinic courtyard was filled with Haitian children screaming, "Fe mal!" – Creole for "I hurt!" Flies infested their wounds. We made the best of what we had. We gave Tylenol to ease the pain of fractures and cleansed cement-embedded gashes with hydrogen peroxide and antibiotic ointment.

I believe we made an impact in Haiti, but I hope bringing the story home will have an even greater impact. It's a story of devastation, poverty, and unbelievable human trials. But it's also a story of hope and survival against all odds. My vision is to be a voice for the unheard and forgotten, and a lifelong advocate for the Haitian people.

Alana Sutter, RN, BSN
William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital and Clinics
Madison, WI

Structural Empowerment

To bring their hospital's mission, vision, and values to life, nurses in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) at Hahnemann University Hospital developed a community outreach program —"MICU Cares"— to support local organizations in need. Each month, a staff member selects an organization to receive charitable contributions. Nurses hold fundraising events throughout the month, in addition to making their own donations.

When staff learned of the tragedy in Haiti, nurses used the MICU Cares program to reach out to the global community. They quickly organized a two-day bake sale at the hospital selling a variety of home-baked goods. Together, the nurses raised and donated more than $2,000 to benefit the earthquake survivors in Haiti.

Patricia Mannix, BSN, RN
Hahnemann University Hospital
Philadelphia, PA

Nurses Improve the Health of a Community in Need

One week after the earthquake, many volunteers are going home. I wonder, who will come to replace them? We need caregivers to rehab the amputees, remove hardware, administer nursing care and antibiotics, and provide long-term needs.

There are no words to describe the devastation here. I will never forget the images burned in my memory: the people who sleep in the rubble of their homes to protect their property; those who must bury their dead.

The ultimate goal is get the Haitian people to function independently with a higher standard of care. This will require an unconditional commitment from the international community.

Nelson J. Aquino CRNA, MS
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
Children's Hospital Boston

I was part of a 12-member medical mission providing care on the island of la Gonave, Haiti, when the earthquake struck. Two days later, we began to see victims. Their injuries ranged from second- and third-degree burns, to crushed limbs, infected lacerations, and infected, open, compound fractures.

I was immensely grateful for my 25 years of nursing experience, Nurse Practitioner education, and ER skills, all of which enabled me to care for the Haitian people. Their enduring spirit, and generosity in the face of overwhelming poverty, have expanded my heart and changed my life forever.

Sarah Kaspari Baker, BSN, MSN, FNPc
Family Nurse Practitioner
St. Alexius Medical Center
Bismarck, ND

When the earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, it didn’t take long for Abbott Northwestern Hospital (ANW) and Allina staff to ask, “How can we help?” By living out our value of compassion for others, staff quickly identified that excess supplies left over from the closing of one of our surgery centers could be donated to the American Refugee Committee. By way of a conference call on January 19, Pat Freeborn, OR Materials Resource Manager, and Grant Logan, Materials Management Manager, began planning with Sarah Charai from Allina Supply Chain, and Sue Durkin, Director of Emergency Services, to coordinate and deliver the needed supplies by 10 a.m. the next day. Thanks to quick response and lots of volunteer support, Allina and ANW staff were able to pack, track, and label 26 boxes of surgery supplies (bandages, dressings, sutures, etc.), as well as one million surgical gloves, and donate everything to the Haitian relief efforts.

Tonya Montesinos, MS, BSN, RN-BC, PHN
Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Allina Hospitals and Clinics
Minneapolis, MN

Exemplary Professional Practice

I was deployed to Haiti as a proud member of the International Medical Surgical Response Team, and witnessed first-hand the terrible devastation in the days following the earthquake. The experience was overwhelming and still haunts me.

Because I am an educator at heart, I decided to turn my experience into something positive for my staff at Mercy Hospital. Creating "The Role of the Registered Nurse during a Disaster" has helped me heal emotionally. It is a gift to my colleagues who have prayed and cried with me, and whose support has sustained me. I am inspired by the amazing resilience of the Haitian people. Despite the devastation, they still have faith and hope.

Yamile Fuentes, RN
Nurse Clinician
Mercy Hospital
Miami, FL

In early March, I will be leaving for Haiti with a team of 27 medical and support personnel. Plans were in place before the earthquake to conduct a 12-day clinic near the northern city of Cap Haitian. Now, we will respond to need wherever it arises.

While the situation is daunting, the words of Mother Teresa ring true, "If I were to think of the crowds, I'd never begin anything. It's the individual that matters." We have the honor of offering individuals in Haiti the compassion and care that roots nursing.

Todd Spencer
Student Nurse
St. Margaret's School of Nursing
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Medical missions have always been my passion. I traveled to Haiti on January 19, just one week after the catastrophic earthquake. Once there, I had the privilege of working with a diverse group of physicians, nurses, and paramedics from North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Hungary, and Haiti. We performed orthopedic surgeries, mostly amputations on children. We also assisted in getting patients transferred to the USNS Comfort.

There are no words to describe the smells, sights, and sounds I witnessed in Haiti, nor are there words to express the feelings I have regarding my trip. It was truly a life-changing experience.

Mary M. Pulliam, RN
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center

When the earthquake hit, five Children's Memorial Hospital nurses were just completing a week-long medical mission in Haiti. We were part of a 23-member team from Little by Little, an organization that provides healthcare to the remote mountain village of Gramothe.

Immediately after the quake, we became first responders at a nearby hospital with very limited staff and supplies. We cared for patients with fractures and gaping wounds while providing IV therapy, antibiotics, and pain management. Our nurses assisted in the surgical suite and helped suture and dress wounds. Although we could not help everyone, we were able to make a difference to many during those first hours of devastation.

Janice Nuuhiwa, MSN, APN/CNS, CPON
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Children's Memorial Hospital
Chicago, IL

I am a pediatric emergency room nurse. I arrived in Haiti six days after the earthquake with Samaritan's Purse. Based out of the Haiti Baptist Mission, I watched as the 78-bed hospital swelled with injured people – most lying on the floor. I was the only pediatric nurse available at the time, so the team relied on my expertise to aid the hurting children. For two weeks, I gave medicine, changed dressings, and transported patients from other hospitals. As more people come to the aid of Haitians, a glimmer of hope for healing can be seen through the pain of tragedy and devastation.

Jennifer Gresham, RN, BSN
Presbyterian Hospital
Charlotte, NC

Since the devastating earthquake struck, Massachusetts General Hospital has mobilized to help those affected by the disaster. To date, we’ve sent nearly 60 nurses to Haiti. Their assignments include deployments with a Mass General-sponsored clinical outreach team; a Boston-based relief team that is part of a national network; Project HOPE, stationed aboard the USNS Comfort; and Partners in Health. In the early days, team members reported dire conditions, severe shortages of drugs and medical supplies, and many heartbreaking stories. They were equally struck by the spirit of the Haitian people. This spirit inspires them as they continue to express their humanity by doing all they can to help those around them.

Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, MS, FAAN
Patient Care Services
Massachusetts General Hospital

As an RN, I was part of a team of 14 people scheduled to go on a church-sponsored medical mission to Haiti on January 20. When the earthquake struck on January 12, the location where we were to work was heavily damaged and the airline cancelled our flight.

Following the quake, it was clear that the people of Haiti desperately needed our medications and supplies. So we switched our focus to getting those supplies into the country, even though we could not go as a team. The long-term need for medical support is great. Our plan is to go to Haiti once commercial flights have resumed and we have collected more donated medications and supplies.

Isabel MacKinney-Smith, RN, BSN, CCM
Care Manager, Chronic Disease
UPMC St. Margaret

It’s 2 a.m. in Haiti, and you are one of two nurses with 76 patients in need of IV hydration, antibiotics, and pain medication. Six of these patients are in need of intensive care; another is in labor. Despite your best efforts, you just can’t get it all done. What do you do? We woke up the exhausted day-shift nurses, tired doctors, and worried family members. They responded willingly in whatever capacity was needed. No tasks were too menial. At that moment we were all nurses: the best kind, the ones who care.

Jacqueline Pennant RN, BSN, CCRN
Holy Cross Hospital
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Haiti, cracked by the earthquake, shines bright with hope. When we say, "I am sorry for what happened to your country and your people," we hear the same response: "It is God's will." The Haitian people's deep sense of faith binds them together, their one true strength unable to be crushed.

As their world crumbled, holding hands, a mother and child ran outside. She died, he was trapped. His crushed arm required amputation and became infected. Eight days later, as we began treatment, morphine glazed his eyes. Yet he still screamed. A nurse whispered, "Shhhh, God is with you." He calmed and responded, "I know God is with me. I am alive."

The earth's shaking affirmed the Haitians' unbreakable strength, and I am blessed to be witness to it.

Brenda Miller, RN, MSN
Nursing Director, PICU
Massachusetts General Hospital

I served as the Deputy Commander of DMAT MA-1 under the Department of Health and Human Services. Ours was the first U.S. Government medical response team in Haiti, with responsibility for setting up a medical field hospital at GHESKIO University. I was second in command, overseeing the medical/surgical site operations, logistics, administration, and planning. By the end of our two-week rotation, we’d seen more than 500 patients, performed 66 surgical procedures, delivered nine babies, and had one death. Some have asked why I do this work, and I have an easy answer: Most of the time, I get more out of it than I give. It's a very rewarding thing to do.

Jacquelyn Nally, RN, BSN
Emergency Department Nurse
Massachusetts General Hospital

The day after the earthquake struck Haiti, I was fortunate to deploy with the IMSuRT and the MA-1 DMAT teams: a most remarkable group of individuals who, for two weeks, functioned as a cohesive and effective unit. In collaboration with several other federal and local clinical staff, we established a field hospital that provided surgical care, critical care, and air evacuation capability, all of which helped decompress the local medical infrastructure.

Perhaps even more exemplary was the performance of those staff not directly involved in the response—the "home team"—who had to fill in for us in our absence. Not only did we not hear a single complaint, but the warmth and gratitude with which the team received us upon our return has been, to say the least, overwhelming.

Joseph Roche, RN
Surgical ICU
Massachusetts General Hospital

When the first group of Haitian earthquake survivors arrived at Tampa General Hospital on January 26, three University of South Florida nursing students were on hand to offer some special assistance. Sherhonda Fevrier, Joanne Leo, and Vatanie Turenne all speak fluent Creole, and volunteered to serve as translators for the critically injured patients.

Although they'd already worked full shifts that day, the students desperately wanted to help. Each had many relatives in Haiti; Fevrier's cousin had been killed in the quake, and other family members were homeless. "We felt blessed to be able to do something," Fevrier recalls.

Throughout the evening, as adults and children arrived with severe burns, spinal cord injuries, and broken bones, the nursing students comforted and reassured them. They explained procedures, helped fill out forms, and translated for ER staff. Leo described the CT scan to a frightened young man whose spine had been crushed, paralyzing him from the chest down. Fevrier translated for a 23-year-old man whose car had exploded during the quake, causing third degree burns on his arms and face. 

When the three finally went home, they were exhausted but grateful. "We couldn't go to Haiti, so God brought Haiti to us," Leo says.

Sherhonda Fevrier, Joanne Leo, and Vatanie Turenne
University of South Florida Nursing School
Tampa General Hospital

Upon hearing the news of the earthquake in Haiti, my heart went out to the already impoverished country. Immediately, I knew I wanted to be involved at any possible level. I had reached a point in my life where I had been fortunate to receive many blessings. It was now time for me to pay it forward; to become an agent of change. I shed many tears while caring for my patients, saddened because I wanted to do more than I could physically provide. But I am thankful for the opportunity to serve in the capacity that I did.

Marjorie May, RN, CCRN, ANM
Holy Cross Hospital
Fort Lauderdale, FL

In February, I traveled to Haiti with an organization called Virginia Mennonite Missions (VMM) to help run mobile medical clinics in underserved areas. We focused our efforts on the tent cities where many Haitians have been living since the earthquake. Our group included five nurses, a physician, and a translator. During our two-week trip, we conducted eight medical clinics and treated more than 750 patients with a variety of traumatic and general medical/surgical complaints. We referred a few of these patients to established military hospitals for treatment beyond our capabilities. Although we know that our visit changed lives, I believe that we were changed even more, both as practitioners and members of the global community.

Micah Puffer, BSN-RN
Emergency Department
Martha Jefferson Hospital
Charlottesville, VA

At 8 a.m., I received a call to leave for Haiti, went to my CNO for permission, and without hesitation she let me go with her blessing. I was on a plane by 5 o’clock that evening, just three days after the earthquake. This was my fifth international relief mission and my second disaster. We practiced what I like to call "Civil War" medicine. There were no real supplies, no running water, nothing but a lot of creativity. My mother, who is also an RN, went with me. We slept on the ground for five days, we laughed and cried, but in the end we felt truly honored to have had the privilege to help the people of Haiti. I wanted to touch the lives of the people there, but I think they touched my life and impacted my outlook just as much as I did theirs. I would do it again in one second.

Christine Wade RN, MSN, CEN, TNCC
Nurse Manager, Emergency Room
Jersey City Medical Center
Jersey City, NJ

New Knowledge, Innovation, & Improvements

It's 6 a.m. in Haiti. I'm drinking coffee from a bag when my cement seat moves back and forth. It's another aftershock — 6.0 on the Richter Scale. Three whistles blow and everyone appears in the courtyard. After a headcount, it's back to business. Just the start of another hot, helicopters-overhead, smoke- in-the-air day.

Inside the major tent are patients in traction, with broken bones and crushed toes. A mother and newborn await discharge. A TB and HIV patient sits outside the door. Amidst the chaos, a helicopter flies in carrying a baby with hydrocephalus. We name him "Zip Skyler." It's a good feeling to know I made a difference in these lives in the two weeks I was there.

Maryann Lupi, RN, BSN
Radiology Nurse
Massachusetts General Hospital

I flew to Haiti to help those less fortunate. In turn, the challenges on the ground taught me a valuable lesson about my own skills as a nurse. One night, as a child lay seizing, we evaluated the medical supplies available to us. We had no IV medications. We had PO meds, but no NG tubing. Using our limited resources, we cut IV tubing and gently inserted it in the child's nasal passage. After checking the tube’s placement, I gave anti-seizure medication by pushing it through the IV tubing with a 3cc syringe. This was just one example of the many innovations healthcare professionals used in Haiti.

Charles Brown, RN
York Hospital Wellspan
York, PA

In February, I went to Haiti for two weeks as part of a medical relief team from several Chicago-area hospitals in association with a US NGO. We worked primarily in ER tents on the grounds of a local hospital. Our group included medical workers who went on mobile clinics each day to surrounding communities. Relying on third-world medicine after a natural disaster made working conditions especially tough, but we became quite innovative and resourceful with the supplies we had. Many other international organizations were there offering assistance and it was wonderful to see everyone pull together for the same purpose: to help out the Haitians in their time of great need.

Lisa Pint, RN, BSN, CCRN
Rush University Medical Center
Chicago, IL

Cathy and I were among the first medical wave to arrive in Haiti from the United States. Our assignment was to provide austere medical care at a base established by the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. We deployed a fully-staffed field hospital and treated hundreds of sick and injured patients daily. We also launched roving care teams into nearby towns and mountain villages. The survivors in the valley below would sing each night.

We have responded to numerous disasters and national security events. Atlantic Health System has supported us every step of the way. In a world that keeps producing new challenges, experience is a tool we like to bring back home.

Flexibility and resourcefulness. I never realized how important these would be in helping me care for hundreds of wounded adults and children in the Good Samaritan Hospital in Jimani, Dominican Republic, days after the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. As an operating room nurse, I helped in any way I could—from taking patients’ temperatures and organizing supplies to feeding children with amputated limbs and assisting with skin grafts in the OR. Plans would change hourly regarding patient care, documentation, supplies, food, and transportation. However, the need for nursing care was constant and that is why I was there.

Stephanie Celata, RN, MSN, CNORP
Winchester Hospital
Winchester, MA

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