As thousands of refugees from hurricane-ravaged New Orleans flock into neighboring Houston seeking aid and shelter, volunteers from across the nation are being called on to provide vital medical assistance. Among those who answered the call are nurses from Freedom Drug, the nation’s leading infertility specialty pharmacy.

Switching Gears for Hurricane Victims
On a typical workday, Freedom Drug’s seven RNs and one nurse practitioner fan out across different sections of the country, bringing their expertise on infertility and its treatment to fertility clinics. But this week, they are drawing upon their generalized medical training for the victims of hurricane Katrina.

The nurses and other medical experts are housed in MASH-like tents inside the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, where some 5,000 New Orleans-area transplants have been bussed. The convention center has shed its revenue-generating convention business until at least next month to house, feed and care for now-homeless hurricane victims.

On-the-Spot Health Care
The infertility nurses converged on Houston this past weekend, and have been working in eight-hour shifts, sometimes until the wee hours of the morning. What kinds of medical care are they providing? It runs the gamut, they said. "There are people here who are diabetic, hypertensive, and asthmatic, and they have not had any of their medications for a week," explained Gina Paoletti-Falcone, RN, a Clinical Services Educator at Freedom Drug. The nurses are collecting medication information from the residents, and assisting with efforts to have their prescriptions filled.

Yet pharmaceutical assistance is just one facet of medical aid included in the cornucopia of services provided for the refugees at the convention center, where prescriptions written by physicians on-site can be filled for free within a few hours, the nurses explained. On Sunday alone, more than 7,000 prescriptions had been filled, they said.

A special triage has been set up where victims are evaluated and then directed to the proper medical care. People who need obstetric, mental health, or dental services can find them under one roof, as well as care for trauma victims, who are first stabilized at the convention center, then transported to a hospital, as needed.

Additionally, medical assistance provided by Freedom's nurses has changed from day-to-day, depending on need. "One night, a few of us worked pediatrics," Gina recalled. "Parents would bring their children in, and then they'd go into different rooms, and we take over a room and work with the physicians. Last night, we all worked in the adult medical unit. There were six of us along with attending physicians from the University of Texas, student nurses, and residents. We literally [worked] for eight hours, and we took care of all these patients."

Medical Needs Run the Gamut
The nurses say they marvel at the personal stories of the patients who've sought their assistance. "One man needed insulin. He told me he sat on his roof for three days ... until the helicopters came and took him away," said Anne Danforth, RN, a Nursing Affairs Manager at Freedom Drug from Needham, Massachusetts.

"We have seen everything from two-month-old babies who have perforated eardrums from riding in these helicopters or in the airplanes to people who have their knees hurt when they were being evacuated ..." she said.

Sometimes, people can't remember the name of the medication they're taking. No problem. A copy of the Physicians' Desk Reference is nearby as an invaluable medical aid, as are PDAs with Internet access used as a research tool, if necessary.

Potentially contagious illnesses must also be dealt with. Cases of dysentery, scabies (a contagious form of dermatitis) and tuberculosis are emerging, the nurses explained. As such, these patients are placed in medical areas isolated from the rest of the hurricane victims until test results come back. If negative, they're released back into the general population. "I'm very impressed with how the health department, the nurse director, and the city are organizing this. [They're] keeping it well-organized and well under control," said  Mary Vietzke, RN, a nurse coordinator who works for Freedom Drug in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

There is, however, a safety concern in Houston. Refugees entering the convention center or other designated shelters are barred from carrying in weapons, illicit drugs, or alcohol. To and from their hotel and the convention center each shift, the nurses are transported by ambulance to ensure their safety.

Keeping Life as 'Normal' As Possible
In the meantime, 'home'--at least for now--is a designated space on the floor of the convention center where people sleep on cots or air mattresses. "When I walk through, what I see is families trying to stick close together," said Mary. The National Guard, Air Force and local police are also on-site, keeping order. Shower facilities, as well as a cafeteria are provided, as is a designated area for children's activities. But while the range of services has been solidly put into place, supplies for the victims are still urgently needed, Mary stressed.

The medical care, as well as sleeping accommodations and food provisions at the convention center and elsewhere around Houston are blessings for the hurricane victims. Many of them, the nurses say, have uncertain futures. "[To] just about anyone I talk to, I say, 'When are you planning to go back to New Orleans?' said Anne. "They're very, very polite, and they call me 'Miss Anne'. 'Miss Anne, I don't know if I'm ever going to go back. My house is underwater. I don't have anything left.'"

"They're in a state of shock," she said.

Special Thanks to Laura Dysard, RN, who provided assistance at Freedom Drug for the traveling nurses.

John Martin is a long-time health journalist and an editor for Priority Healthcare. His credits include overseeing health news coverage for the website of Fox Television's The Health Network, and articles for the New York Post and other consumer and trade publications.