Hurricane Katrina was unprecedented in its impact on individuals, businesses, community infrastructure, and national disaster support systems. The business recovery experience highlighted the key roles of human resources professionals and the occupational health nurse in assisting employees and the business to recover. Business leaders may not realize the importance of the occupational health nurse's knowledge and skills in preparing and testing the business continuity plan, and the nurse's role in the disaster recovery effort. This is a critical opportunity for the nurse to contribute. Learning from previous disaster recovery efforts is an important step in increasing the occupational health nurse's effectiveness in a business disaster recovery effort.