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The
American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization
led by volunteers, has a mission to provide relief to
victims of disasters and to help people prevent and
prepare for and respond to emergencies. The site lists
volunteer opportunities for anyone in the community
who wishes to donate their time or resources to the
Red Cross.
Volunteers are needed to serve as speakers, board members,
work during state and national disasters, serve on the
disaster action team, work in homeless shelters, work
with youth, teach and conduct grant research.
Child development
The University of Michigan Web site YourChild,
edited by co-founder Kyla Boyse, RN, is an Internet
guide to information, support and resources for parents
about child development and behavioral topics.
"We provide a good overview of each of our topics,
including parenting tips and we have many links, so
that parents can go in-depth through the reviewed links
on each aspect of each topic they are most interested
in. We also strive to connect parents with support,
particularly online sites that can help parents find
local support groups," Boyse said.
Patient safety
The National
Patient Safety Foundation is an organization composed
of health care providers who believe patient safety
is central to quality health care as reflected by the
Hippocratic oath: "Above all, do no harm."
The site provides educational information for nurses
on how to talk to patients about health care injury
and the impact of staffing shortages on patient safety.
The patient safety resource link contains a bibliography
of more than 3,000 books, articles and reports, a discussion
forum, patient safety resource links and information
for the patient safety officer.
Be prepared
The
Federal Emergency Management Agency has prepared
a guide, "Are you ready? A guide to citizen preparedness,"
that provides facts on disaster survival techniques,
disaster-specific information and how to prepare for
and respond to both natural and manmade disasters.
It includes step-by-step outlines on how to prepare
a disaster supply kit, emergency planning for people
with disabilities, how to locate and evacuate to a shelter
and even how to care for family pets.
Those interested in volunteering to help during disasters
can obtain information at Citizen Corps, which was created
after Sept. 11 in response to citizens asking "What
can I do?" and "How can I help?"
End-of-life care
The
Last Acts Web site offers the "Five principles
of palliative care" and a report, "Means to
a Better End: A Report on Dying in America Today."
The site rates the quality of individual state advance
directive laws.
Another site, Choices
Bank, allows you to create an advance directive
and then deposit it into the Internet site where it
can be viewed at any time. The site allows users to
choose the level of privacy they want regarding their
advance directive and permits only those they choose
to access their directive.
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