Natural Disasters: A Louisiana Gulf Perspective of Maintaining Patient Care

Natural disasters cause challenges for healthcare organizations because of circumstances such as limited communication, restricted transportation, and the emotional toll of the devastation. For oncology nurses and providers, disasters present unique challenges, like maintaining chemotherapy treatment schedules and adhering to research protocols for clinical trial participants. To ensure continuity of care, nurses can provide patients with critical medical information that will be needed if they are displaced, use electronic health records, maintain current copies of patient contact lists and treatment schedules, and stock up on supplies and medications.