September 11, 2001 – The Impact on Nurses There have always been nurses at the forefront where the need arises. From Pearl Harbor to Vietnam, the Gulf War, to natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy. So, when the twin towers were destroyed, and lives were lost, while others suffered tremendous injuries, nurses were there to help every step of the way. Ground Zero – New York University Medical Center The day started for all of the nurses as a typical day. Around 9 am many heard on the radio that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. The first reaction from every nurse listening was that they hoped no one was injured. Shortly thereafter they heard two planes crashed and it was both towers, that is when most nurses realized the day would be far from typical. The hospital went into disaster mode, accepting nothing but patients from the disaster. Some of the nurses were transported to ground zero to assist, those that are FEMA certified are specially trained in disasters. The nurses had to walk the last few blocks, the roads were too covered in derbies for the ambulance to make it through. A makeshift triage was set up, some nurses remained there while others went to the actual ground zero sites. One nurse describes the air as being full of dust, in fact, so full it made it appear dark. There were millions of papers flying everywhere, and the dust and ashes were 3-4 feet high in some areas. As people came running from the buildings, they would spot the uniformed nurses and run to them. Some of the people were in shock, but physically ok. Others had serious injuries, and yet their bodies were still going at full strength. Injuries varied, and there was so much chaos, it was difficult to decide who needed to be treated first. One nurse recalls treating a man that was missing the lower portion of his arm. He was not aware that his arm was missing, he requested the nurse to do stitches on his injury. She tied the injury off, and had he transported to the hospital, later learning the entire arm had to be amputated. Related: 5 Ways to Organize Your Paperwork Injuries Treated Numerous injuries due to smoke inhalation, including firefighters and police.
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Burns were the common of all injuries that day, many of which were 3rd degree, and the patient did not survive
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Broken bones from falling objects or occurring from trying to escape a falling and burning building. Many people were being carried out, while some were rolled out in office chairs, unable to walk.
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Serious wounds resulting from derbies, although one wound had remnant of the plane itself bedded into the patient’s skin.
There were injuries that some of the nurses had never seen before, including several that claimed the patient's life as the nurses tried to treat them. The nurses that went to ground zero that day had started work at 7 am, every one of them stayed until 3 am or later. The nurses wanted to help as many injured victims as they could, and as rescue efforts continued, more, and more police and firefighters were injured. It was not until the ground zero nurses returned to the hospital that they actually realized how many patients they treated that day. The nurses went home and returned for their normal shifts, all of them checking the status of the patient's they had worked with at ground zero. Some did not make it, others made it, and credited the nurses with saving their life. Related: 5 Ways to Cheer Up Your Geriatric Patients Following 9/11, the hospital continued to stay very busy, and firefighters and police worked the scene. Smoke inhalation and burns continued to be a problem, just as injuries from the objects that blocked stairwells and entrance ways to offices. The concern was that victims may be left behind, so the search continued and as it did, so did the nurses. The team of nurses continued to work ground zero for a full 3 weeks, often as many as 18 hours before taking breaks. When it was all over for most of the world, the memories remained for the nurses, they still talk about it today, it's not likely they will ever forget that tragic September 11 2001 – The Impact on Nurses Related: Expert Geriatrics Nurse Marie A. Bissell, APRN, GNP-BC, will be Spotlighted in the Worldwide Leaders in Healthcare Please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and Twitter