UNC Health Nash deploys teams of volunteers to support overwhelmed hospitals in Helene-ravaged areas
By Dave Cruz, The Rocky Mount Telegram
When UNC Health Nash requested support for hospitals in the western part of the state after Hurricane Helene pounded the region with wind and rain, two teams of volunteers formed in no time.
But to get there, the volunteers needed an extra hand. And so a local church pitched in on the effort.
“I am so incredibly proud of how quickly our team jumped into action to help our neighbors in Western North Carolina in the wake of unimaginable tragedy,” said Dr. Mary Strickland, UNC Health Nash’s chief nursing officer.
When UNC Health first notified the local hospital of the critical need for support after the storm, 11 nurses were quick to respond, forming the first team that the hospital could deploy west, Strickland said.
Then came the next challenge of finding transportation to get the volunteers over there, she said, noting that First United Methodist Church in downtown Rocky Mount stepped forward to fill that need.
“We were able to borrow their van and transport our team to various hospitals in western N.C. to provide nursing support to their overwhelmed teams,” Strickland said. “Thanks to the quick action of all involved, our team was among the first from central and eastern N.C. to arrive, allowing some of the finest and most caring individuals from our community to make a big impact on our brothers and sisters in need.”
This first team of volunteers left Rocky Mount on Saturday and returned Wednesday.
Nurses Patsy Fincher, Heather Forler, Ashley Blankburn, Jeremy Bullock, Keisha Boone, Mary Williams, Laura Renfrow, Wendy Griffin, Nik Powell, Delcey Harmitt and Alexis Benton took the first trip to help support the overwhelmed hospitals in western North Carolina.
UNC Heath Nash spokeswoman Ashley Flye said the team provided clinical nursing support for hospitals facing staffing challenges due to the widespread devastation.
Among the hospitals that received support from the first Rocky Mount team were UNC Health Appalachian in Boone, UNC Health Blue Ridge in Morganton, UNC Health Caldwell in Lenoir and UNC Health Pardee in Hendersonville.
Strickland said the local hospital was able to remain in contact with the volunteer nurses though cell phone service was spotty.
“The situation is even more devastating than we imagined,” Strickland said based on what the volunteer team shared after hearing first-hand accounts from patients who had lost family members and homes.
Nine more nurses, two chaplains and two police officers from the Rocky Mount hospital have volunteered to serve in the relief effort as the second unit of support. Flye said this second team arrived in western N.C. on Wednesday and plans to return to Rocky Mount on Sunday.
The second team will provide clinical nursing support, security and police presence and chaplains for spiritual support for the patients and hospital staff members affected by the storm, Flye said.
The second team includes nurses Georgia Aquino, Lausan Hicks, Sarah Carter, Jayla Boyd, Keziah Harper, Barbara Jenkins, Hannah Nelson, Lisa Trybus and Leticia Harris; chaplains Alciner Jones and Jennifer Scott; and police officers Lindsay Brand and Quincy Packer.
According to the latest figures available Wednesday afternoon, the death toll from Helene’s inflicted devastation has reached 179.
