The State Assembly has approved a bill aimed at quickly bringing in out-of-state emergency workers to help in the event of a disaster like Hurricane Katrina. From Sacramento, Jenny O'Mara reports.
Democratic Assemblywoman Patty Berg says the goal of her bill is to prevent red tape that hampered emergency volunteers on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. It would establish a system for doctors and nurses to register their credentials before and during an emergency.
Bonnie Castillo is Director of the RN Response Network. She says nurses who wanted to help had trouble even before they left.
Castillo : A number of our members and other nurses from different states had called us and said we're running into a whole lot of trouble getting there.
Berg's bill is part of a nationwide effort to ensure out-of-state healthcare workers can quickly get on the ground in emergency situations. The measure now moves on to the state senate.
