Two well being care professionals within the tri-state space are sharing their experiences working in New York hospitals on Sept. 11, 2001.
Dr. Frank Illuzzi is Hartford HealthCare’s medical director for specialty providers.
However twenty years in the past, Illuzzi was the chief resident at Lengthy Island Jewish Medical Middle in Queens, when terrorists flew two planes into the World Commerce Middle.
Illuzzi mentioned the hospital did not even ship an alert out and over 100 docs and nurses confirmed up instantly, instinctively saying, “How can we assist?”
He defined that the hospital instantly enacted its catastrophe plan, making ready for an onslaught of sufferers, which had been an estimated 500 to 1,000 individuals.
However he advised Information 12 that solely a dozen or two got here, and the variety of survivors had been far fewer than they thought at first.
Illuzi shares, “It was an terrible, terrible, sinking feeling. I imply, anyone who went by means of it. That day simply saved getting worse and worse… the entire day.”
Hartford HealthCare’s President and CEO Jeff Flaks witnessed it firsthand.
Twenty years in the past, he labored at St. Vincent’s Hospital in decrease Manhattan.
He shared that he was in the midst of a gathering in his board room when everybody heard a loud noise.
“On the hospital campus, they instantly closed down seventh Avenue. All of our docs and nurses sprang into motion and actually created lots of of beds on seventh avenue between eleventh and twelfth avenue,” Flaks defined.
Flaks says the preliminary rush introduced greater than 300 sufferers, bodily damage but additionally emotionally traumatized.
He additionally remembers the faces of so many relations studying their family members hadn’t made it to the hospital.
Like Flaks, Dr. Illuzi advised Information 12 that each anniversary reopens outdated wounds, however he is discovered a private treatment by dwelling on the great issues individuals did that day to attempt to assist one another.
