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In This Issue:
The heroic stories from Monday are many.
Kayla Quinn, RN, a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit Float Pool, was watching the Boston Marathon with friends near the finish line when she heard the blasts. She ran toward them, instinctively reaching out to care for the injured on the ground right away.
Shapiro 9/10 nurse Adrienne Haglin, RN, a finish line medical tent volunteer for the past three years, had been treating runners with cramps and dehydration throughout the day. After the explosions occurred, Haglin instantly began providing emergency care and helping victims reunite with their families, despite not knowing where her husband, a security volunteer at the finish line, was or if he was safe. They later reunited, both physically unharmed.
“I just tried to keep calm,” Haglin said. “Everyone rushed in to help without even thinking. So many of them had loved ones out there as well, but they didn’t think twice about helping.”
Trauma surgeon Zara Cooper, MD, was in her office at BWH when she heard about the explosions at the finish line, close to where her 3-year-old daughter was watching the marathon with her nanny. Panicked, Cooper began trying to reach her family and rushed to the Emergency Department to help triage the patients being sent to BWH. Fifteen minutes later, she received a call that her daughter and nanny were safe. A relieved Cooper later went into the Operating Room, which remained open all night, and performed surgery on one of the 35 patients ultimately brought to BWH for treatment.
Quinn, Haglin and Cooper were among countless BWHers involved in the hospital’s response efforts to the Marathon Monday explosions. Whether at BWH or on the scene at the finish line, BWHers responded immediately, with courage and compassion, providing coordinated care for patients and families and support for each other.
“At BWH, we did what we do best; we responded with strength to do everything possible for those in need,” said BWH President Betsy Nabel, MD. “Words cannot express my gratitude for the swift action taken by staff across the institution.”
The hospital went into a rare lockdown mode for most of Monday afternoon and throughout the evening until Tuesday morning. This was an additional precaution that BWH deemed necessary to keep staff and patients safe amid an uncertain situation.
“We had never seen anything like this before, but we were prepared,” said Ron Walls, MD, chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine, whose expertise was widely sought by local and national media following the event. “We’ve practiced drills over and over again and were ready to respond immediately.”
Emergency Management Director Barry Wante and Chief Medical Officer Stan Ashley, MD, provided hourly updates on the situation throughout the afternoon and early evening in the Emergency Operations Command Center in the Duncan Reid conference room. BWH leadership from departments across the hospital gathered there throughout the evening to coordinate response efforts.
“We hoped we would never face a situation like this, but thankfully, regular drills and exercises helped us to respond quickly and effectively to the situation and provide care for the injured,” said Wante.
BWH’s Emergency Department, Operating Rooms and Trauma Service, Nursing, Social Work, Chaplaincy, Patient and Family Relations, Admitting, Security and many other departments and teams across the hospital continued the response efforts throughout the evening and next day, providing care, coordinating communication and offering support. At noon on Tuesday, BWHers filled the Bornstein Amphitheater for a prayer service led by staff chaplain Ron Hindelang. A second prayer service was provided at 4 p.m.
“In our togetherness, there is strength,” Hindelang said.
Said Nabel: “In the days ahead, we won’t lose focus on the need to continue to provide comfort to one another. I thank you again for your dedication, compassion and resilience as we all work together on behalf of our patients, their families and each other to begin to heal.”
Staff in need of emotional support are encouraged to contact the BWH Employee Assistance Program at 617-732-6017 or visit the EAP website.
Please note that all members of BWH’s marathon team, Team Stork, are safe.
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2 Comments
At 3pm my heart sank. My husband and our friends were at the marathon. Dazed I walked into my practice managers Mark's office. He took my hands and said "let's pray together". 12 minutes later my husband texted "okay w/Miriam&Shai". I will never forget that afternoon or Mark's kindness.
I was working in the ED when we got the call over the C-Med radio about a possible explosion and for all hospitals to be on standby, right after I received a text from my mother telling me chilling details of how bad it was about to get. No one had any idea of what REALLY was going on out there at the finish line of the marathon. While still making sure we all had the necessary supplies, the doors from the ambulance bay opened and EMT's came rushing in. All your adrenaline kicked into high gear and everyone did what we all knew to do (TAKING CARE OF PATIENTS WITH EXCELLENCE. I am pretty sure as someone looking in from the outside it looked chaotic; maybe even looking like no one knew what they were doing. But in all the chaos, in all of the confusion we all had order. Everyone took charge of something in particular and stuck to it. My co-workers and I in registration each took on a role to make sure each patient had MR # had the appropriate wrist bands, and soon after identified the patients and got the proper registration info before each patient left the floor. It still amazes me to this day how each individual in each area of the ED and other departments such as the Trauma and Burn Center all came together, we were ONE in an instant we became ONE. We were all helping each other and the patients in any way that we could, while making sure and ensuring that everyone was okay. I have also loved the people that I work with and what they stand for here at BWH; and moments like this, in such a sad and horrif event I am even more proud to be apart of this organization. AWESOME JOB BWH!!!!
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