Milford, USA (1962)

[Music] on the whole Nature has been good to us Americans we have a b of land and food forests mineral [Applause] wealth and water to sustain people plants and animals but occasionally nature as if to remind us of her Bounty unleashes a fury of wind rain and flood Man Too has contributed to Nature's violence in our forests and in our city how it happened it happened in Texas City in 1946 [Music] s a disaster that took hundreds of lives and left countless injured and homeless disaster has occurred with such frequency that in many towns and cities Across the Nation thoughtful men and women are preparing plans to care for the injured the sick and the desolate the aftermath of disaster take this group from the town of well we'll call it Milford each one of them knows that disaster planning is a complex job involving the coordination of many different skills on their planning hinges the story we call Milford USA these men and women in Milford knew that planning against disaster wasn't a sometime thing a hit and miss Affair the mayor recognized the need for experts he brought to the first meeting his fire chief the chief of police the town engineer the local civil defense director a doctor and two representatives from the Red Cross one a nurse and the other an expert in disaster planning [Music] from the start the group knew what it was planning for a river ran through the town and a bad flood could cause severe damage although the town's fire laws were stringent a fire in one of milford's industrial plants or tank Farms might cause a major disaster but most important Milford is in a tornado belt although it hasn't yet been hit the threat of a bad tornado hangs over the town each year having pinpointed possible disasters which could occur in Milford the group settled down to planning emergency measures in the weeks that followed safe areas or shelters were designated and the town's people made aware of them plans to organize Professional Medical and nursing help were made and the patient loads of milford's hospitals analyzed against a disaster influx plans to create more interest in home nursing and first aid classes were made what happened in Milford didn't take a day a week or even a mon month but finally the disaster plans were made plans for several contingencies but all involving the same protective elements would they work the only way to find out would be to try out one of the plans a drill for a natural disaster it would mean more planning setting up victims disrupting school schedules contacting businessmen with large plants but it could be done for the town of Milford planning for a disaster wasn't left to chance once those affected by a work stoppage agreed and the victims designated the only imponderable facing the group was how would the town's people react to a situation which wasn't the real thing let's see what happened in the shelter phase of the drill this is a simulated Red Cross shelter prior to their arrival many disaster victims were already given first aid these victims were brought here for Continued Care and temporary shelter nursing assistants who are calm and well informed about the condition of of patients can give simple nursing care to help patients and their families feel that everything possible will be done to promote recovery knowledge of home nursing fundamentals vital to the health and comfort of your own family may bring relief comfort and reassurance to the victims of disaster the need for warmth and reassurance is even greater in caring for the old an aged parent or relative in your own home here a stranger care for the young disrupted made homeless perhaps in a disaster orphaned again a need for knowledgeable home nursing care one of the most basic of all home nursing procedures The Taking of temperatures if thermometers are available the home nurse familiar with the procedure will have no no difficulty in an emergency in adapting herself to a shelter situation of course in real life the home nurse will usually want to wear low heeled shoes if there is a shortage of thermometers or none is available the home nurse may have to use her powers of observation to determine whether a patient has a fever a rise in temperature may be caused by infection or dehydration especially in burn cases the feel of a patient 's forehead a flush in the patient's cheeks May indicate the presence of a fever the throat is one of the first areas where symptoms of illness appear early recognition of a sore throat by the Home nurse may help prevent the spread of disease especially when large numbers of people are gathered in one shelter Burns may be the result of flame chemical steam or hot water burn dressings applied at the disaster scene must be checked carefully to see that they are clean and secure and if necessary another one added by the Home nurse let me emphasize the burn dressing is not removed except as a doctor may direct injury to limbs is a common result of a disaster the home nurse should observe whether splints are in the proper position and Report when adjustment is necessary open cuts and wounds from flying debris are sure to take their toll knowledge of pressur dressings enables this nurse to assist in applying further pressure to control the bleeding such follow-up procedures on the part of the home nurse may keep a patient alive until further Medical Care can be given where a patient has difficulty breathing as with a patient who is gasping turning the patient's head to one side and pushing the jaw forward will usually open the air passage cold or hot compresses may also relieve suffering this woman remembering what she has learned in her home nursing course makes certain that compressors or other devices used in cold or hot treatments are safe to use the home nurse remembers too the procedures for treatment of the eyes a common source of injury from swirling dust and debris here she shows how to instill ey drops holding the dropper steady across the bridge of the nose then a separate wipe for each eye in addition to her knowledge of home nursing procedures for the relief of pain and physical suffering the nurse assistant in the shelter May often be called upon to provide many quick and ingenious services it may be necessary to protect a patient from falling out of a cot the home nurse accomplishes this by using a blanket fastened at the head and foot of the bed to form a protective bed rail emergency situations call for swiftly devised equipment for the comfort of disaster victims a pair of slippers may be made out of a newspaper formed into bags made with two thicknesses the loose corner of the lock cuff of the bag tucked under to form a triangle makes the sole of the slipper in the same way that the slippers were made newspapers may also be used to improvise bags for disposal purposes an improvised robe may be a great comfort in an emergency shelter this home nurse fashion a robe a of a blanket a lengthwise fold of the blanket placed at the center of the patient's neck forms the color the blanket is adjusted around the patient's shoulder and pinned the robe is then completed by pinning sleeves on each side another useful article is a cardboard box made into a crib or bed and padded for an infant when possible the home nurse should arrange to screen off an area in the shelter perhaps for a nursing mother or for any situation calling for privacy a sheet or a blanket may be used for this purpose any effort toward keeping a family together in a shelter goes a long way toward improving morale the home nurse is invaluable in this type of human guidance where knowledge of emergency measures and Facilities is of such vital [Music] importance the Milford group had learned many valuable lessons from its exercise and planning for a disaster from natural causes the town's people had responded well the group knew that more education more planning would be necessary for Community shelter living to protect themselves from the danger of Fallout if the country were subject to a nuclear attack there are established methods of maintaining sanitation and preventing infection which must be employed in the fallout shelter or home nurse will be helpful in ensuring that these methods are followed for example in the use of containers for disposal of waste soil dressings litter and human waste a knowledge of food preparation under emergency conditions is vital for preparing food in a fallout shelter this home nurse is preparing a bottle feeding for a baby using powdered milk and cold water the milk must be warm and a good way to warm it is to place it under your arm food and water itself must be carefully conserved in an emergency shelter the responsibility for Distributing these supplies rests with the shelter manager but the home nurse can help in the task of teaching individuals how to conserve distributed supplies preparation of food in such an emergency shelter may be minimal animal the home nurse will need to help with the feeding of the ill or disabled the tensions of confinement in a shelter may be relieved by Recreation the home nurse can help entertain the children by telling them stories or teaching them songs she may even impr vised games such as this checkerboard made from cardboard she can see to it that reading matter is circulated above all the home nurse can see to it that disaster victims are made as comfortable as possible identification of people in a shelter is of great importance and especially important when caring for the young or very ill since they may be incapable of volunteering this necessary information this then has been the story of Milford USA as I said at the beginning planning for a disaster operating a shelter is a complex job involving the coordination of many skills here many people work together toward the same end the professional nurse the practical nurse and the home nurse like others the home nurse is a valuable member of the emergency team in this effort no one stands alone in recognition of that fact may I present Mrs Jane Hammer Special Assistant to the assistant secretary of defense for civil defense who will speak to you about your importance as a home nurse in disaster situations Mrs Hannah this is the last in the series of Red Cross home nursing films in previous films you have seen demonstrations of many nursing skills skills which you can employ in relieving suffering in your own home or your own Community today you have seen how many of those home nursing skills may be adapted to care for larger groups in a Red Cross or a community fallout shelter in the event of disaster or nuclear attack Upon Our Nation follow up care of the sick and injured and reassurance of the bewildered and frightened will require home nursing knowledge for it is very important that doctors and professional nurses be relieved of as much routine work as possible under emergency conditions those of you who have had Red Cross instruction in home nursing could form the core of this vital nursing assistance the Red Cross home nursing course should be a must for at least one member of every family there are of course other services necessary to make Fallout shelters safe and bearable for people but care of the sick and injured will be a vital part of these Services regardless of the nature of the emergency your local civil defense Red Cross chapter and your health department have available informational books and pamphlets on the subject of home nursing and emergency care of the sick and injured keep up to dat with the latest home nursing techniques keep in touch with local civil defense and public health development in a community disaster or an attack in an emergency within your own home your training may be the deciding factor in Saving Lives [Music]