September 21, 2001

New York mayor Rudy Giuliani has encouraged New Yorkers – and all Americans – to try to return to their normal routines after the terrorist tragedy that struck the United States last week. Getting back to normal may seem to be an impossible task. But miles away from the sites of destruction, MGH employees are trying to do just that.

Many MGHers have turned their thoughts and prayers to their own co-workers who lost loved ones in the hijacked plane crashes in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania. The healing process began early last week as MGH employees comforted each other while watching the news coverage in dismay.

MGH Chaplaincy staff, held a prayer service Sept. 12 in the MGH chapel and a much larger interfaith prayer vigil Sept. 14 in the O'Keeffe Auditorium. Employees at the MGH health centers tuned in to the vigil via teleconferencing screens. Hundreds of MGHers packed the auditorium and the nearby Haber Room to participate in the special service, which was presided over by Rev. Mary Martha Thiel, director of MGH Chaplaincy. MGH clergy and other hospital employees from various faiths – including Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism and Judaism – offered prayers and words of comfort, remembrance and forgiveness.

Approximately 250 employees attended a similar service at CNY Sept. 14, and MGH chaplains have responded to requests to provide spiritual care for passengers and employees at Logan Airport, where two of the hijacked flights originated.

MGH employees also have found solace in the knowledge that a group of MGH physicians and nurses were deployed last week to New York to help in the relief efforts. MGH surgeon Susan Briggs, MD, took a group of 35 members of the International Medical Surgical Response Team (IMSuRT) and the Metro-Boston Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) to New York at the request of the federal government.

On Sept. 13, the group was split up – some stayed at the Stewart Air Force Base in Newburg, NY, where the team first arrived, six nurses were deployed to the Cornell University Burn Unit and others reported to a location near what has become known as Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center's twin towers used to stand. The group was the first DMAT to set up a medical tent on-site for the treatment of rescue workers. During the last few days, the team has set up four additional tents – two situated directly amidst the rubble – to treat conditions such as severe blisters, respiratory problems and injuries sustained in falls. More trained volunteers have since joined the group, including two nurses from the MGH Burn Unit.

In addition to treating the physical wounds sustained at the disaster site, a group of MGH psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers left for New York to help Bellevue Hospital's Psychiatry department counsel those who may suffer from psychological wounds caused by this tragedy. The group, called the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, joined the MGH in July and is led by MGH psychiatrist Richard Mollica, MD. MGH psychiatrist Fred Stoddard, MD, also has organized a group of psychiatrists from Massachusetts to go to New York to aid in the counseling efforts.

Back at the MGH, the Psychiatry Department joined with staff of MassGeneral Hospital for Children to offer words of wisdom to employees and the general public about how to cope with anger and anxiety. They also advised the community on how to communicate with children of all ages in the aftermath of the national disaster. MGH psychiatrists and nurses have been interviewed on the subject by local and national print and television outlets during the last two weeks.

MGH Psychiatry and MassGeneral Hospital for Children also collaborated with MGH Nursing to present a family forum for employees Sept. 20. The forum featured MGH psychologist Larry Kutner, PhD, who specializes in child development and parent and child communication.

In addition, the MGH Employee Assistance Program staff are providing assistance to employees with office visits. The staff also hosted an information table in the Main Corridor Sept. 17.

MGH Blood Donor Center staff continue to be overwhelmed and touched by the outpouring of so many volunteers who want to donate blood for those injured in the attacks. During a five-day period after the Sept. 11 incident, more than 1,000 blood donors gave the gift of life at the MGH. That figure represents the average number of blood donors at the center in an entire month.

Although the blood supply needs have been met in New York and Washington, the MGH Blood Donor Center encourages people to continue to donate in honor of the victims and volunteers. The need for blood supplies will continue. Employees and others can arrange to donate blood in groups of four or more by calling the center at (617) 726-8177.

While it may be too soon to tell when everyday life will return to what was once considered normal, MGH staff and employees continue to persevere and commit themselves to their jobs at hand.

Hospital employees, friends and family members can visit www.massgeneral.org for more information about hospital resources.

Father Felix Ojimba, above left, offers words of comfort at an MGH prayer service.