Students travel to New Orleans

Photo by Ann Hershberger

Eight EMU students and two professors left at 4:30 a.m. this past Monday for New Orleans. The group plans to help with the Red Cross. Pictured left to right are Amanda Maust, Carla Simmons-Wulin, Cara Salmon, Aaron Schmucker, Monica Hensley, Sue Klassen, Hadley Jenner, Emily Dye, Don Tyson, and Kara Glick.

Eight EMU students and two professors have left on faith to help hurricane victims. "We're not sure where we're going, or exactly what we'll be doing, but it will be somewhere along the Gulf and it will have something to do with community health care and helping the hurricane victims," said Don Tyson, assistant professor at EMU, before the group's departure.

When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast and flooded the city of New Orleans, many EMU students asked themselves what they could do to help. For the typical college student, the answer comes down to sending money to responsible organizations and praying for the victims. But a group of about two dozen nursing students from both EMU and James Madison University has decided put their education into practice to help with the devastation. They are spending two weeks volunteering with the Red Cross in the Gulf Coast.

The group left Harrisonburg on Monday, Sept. 20, and the EMU nursing department received word that evening that the group had made it to a Red Cross Disbursement Center in Montgomery, Ala. The Red Cross is paying for all of their expenses, including transportation, lodging and additional expenses.

Presently the nursing department does not know where the group is, as communication has not been available for the group to make contact.

Donna Trimm, assistant professor in the Nursing Department at JMU, said tasks could include immunizations, wound care, health assessments and preventative care, as well as filling emotional needs of hurricane victims.

All of the students on the trip have fulfilled their non-nursing course requirements. While they will not receive college credit for their volunteer experience, they will be able to use it to expediate mastery in some of the programs EMU requires, such as crisis management, leadership skills and community nursing, according to Arlene Wiens, chair of the EMU Nursing Department.

Nursing faculty members Don Tyson and Sue Klassen are on the trip along with EMU students Emily Dye, Kara Glick, Monica Hensley, Hadley Jenner, Amanda Maust, Cara Salmon, Aaron Schmucker and Carla Simmons-Wulin.