Local nurse calls for more help after Hepatitis A outbreak

COLUMBIA,SC (WOLO)-A medical organization desperately needs more volunteers to help treat people through a hepatitis A outbreak.

One nurse who’s already helping out, is using her experience overseas to motivate more people to lend a hand.

Katrina Haynes spent a week helping train nurses at a hospital in Yap, which is an island near the Philippines, the hospital there is drastically different from some here at home.

“It’s overwhelming that you could go somewhere in modern times and see people lying on the floor in a hospital because the hospital can’t afford to feed the patients,” Haynes said.

The life changing experience inspired Haynes to continue teaching back at home at the Cyber Academy of South Carolina, and get other medical professionals involved in volunteer work.

“They’re overwhelmed and obviously over paid and they’re short on resources,” Haynes said.

If you’re not ready to take flight, Haynes says there is a lot of volunteers needed right here in the Midlands.

“You get so much more when you realize that somebody needs something from you and that it costs nothing,” Haynes said.

Haynes say the need for more medical is critical right now.

“We desperately need nurses to volunteer with the public health reserve corps because there is a hepatitis A outbreak and they’re desperate in need of nurses to just volunteer there time to give people their hepatitis A shot,” Haynes said.