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Just Another Day…
At least I thought it was…
I parked in front of Whitecliff Nursing Home and started to turn off the radio then I heard the news. Evidently a plane had gone horribly off course and crashed into one of the Twin Towers.
By the time I got inside ( I was to lead a pre-survey review of the facility in preparation for its annual state survey), I learned the truth and saw the second plane fly into the other tower. The buzz was we were “at war.” But with whom?
Most of the clerical staff were in the large front activity room, watching the large screen TV. Nurses were going up and down the halls — it was medication time. Nurse aides were caring for the residents, some who seemed to know what was happening and some who didn’t. The real business of the nursing home continuing in the midst of others’ trauma.
We canceled the pre-survey and instead I walked around the units, talking to residents, I heard “like Pearl Harbor…” often.
Speculation was all over the place. “They will close the roads. They will turn off television stations and radio stations. They will…” I guessed “they” was the government.
I went to the DON and administrator and offered to stay and help if the evening shift couldn’t come in. An old RN is still an RN. But it wasn’t necessary and eventually I returned to my hotel room to…
