Dr. Sue Odom, acting department chair of nursing, was with a group that cared for sick patients in a shelter that was set up at Biloxi High School. They have been sleeping on the floors of the high school, the group consisting of 10 senior nursing students at Clayton State and two registered nurses from Northside Hospital in Atlanta.

Odom had to leave the group later due to a family emergency. But her team carried on, working Thursday in heavily damaged areas with Navy and National Guard troops, giving emergency care and evaluating the degree of patients' injuries.

"There is nothing like seeing the devastation in person. It's nothing like I had ever seen before," said nursing student Stacey Clements of Stockbridge.

Another group of 10 senior nursing students from the university, led by nursing professors Dora Weir and Dr. Karen Weaver, is single-handedly running a makeshift hospital at the First Baptist Church in Jackson, caring for about 40 patients.

Both groups of nurses are expected to return Saturday, Sept. 17.

Dr. Lisa Eichelberger, dean of the university's School of Health Sciences, served as dean of Mississippi College School of nursing from 1987 to 1995 and began coordinating the efforts late last week.

The school's entire upcoming graduating class of nurses was made possible through the Intellectual Capital Partnership Program, which has private healthcare providers partnering with 13 educational institutions in a program designed to help employers meet immediate educated workforce needs.

Eichelberger, a resident of Peachtree City, was named dean of the School of Health Sciences in June. She is a 10-year member of the university's faculty.