story2759.xml
Title
story2759.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-11
911DA Story: Story
Title of Story:
No Guidebook for 9-11
There is no guidebook for a tragedy like this. That is what I recently told the employees in all of the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) medical centers and clinics across the network that I manage in New York and New Jersey.. I also told them as we resolved major issues, managed emergent situations, deployed staff and cared for patients, we have been moving forward without the benefit of any previous similar experience. During this, the greatest national tragedy to touch our shores, I noted that it was each of them who are writing the new chapters for this guidebook. As we learn how to deal with the wounded, the distraught, the families, our own staff?s reactions, the media crush, the traffic, the smoke, the dust, our kids, our priorities and our new lives - we are gathering knowledge and skills that will be invaluable to the rest of the nation. The nation will want to know what we have learned and the hurdles we have crossed, and we have crossed many.
This tragedy was within extraordinarily close proximity of many of our VA New York City and New Jersey - medical centers and clinics and had a deep impact on the entire Network. We had to lead the Network through this single most violent act of war and terrorism that the country has ever sustained. Most important was to approach the disaster with compassion, determination and great focus. From the moment the crisis occurred I was in Headquarters at a meeting, and had to begin to manage and lead the network from a remote location. While this was extraordinarily frustrating for me I knew I had great people back in New York and New Jersey - ready to meet the challenge. For the first two days I was asked by VHA to remain in the VA Emergency Operations Center and assist in managing the crisis at the national level. However during this time I was setting in motion the Medical Center Directors and VISN staff to manage numerous aspects of this unfolding and ever-changing tragedy.
From the VA Emergency Operations Center, and when I returned to the Network, I knew how critical it would be to keep in constant communications with my directors, staff, front line employees and headquarters, utilizing conference calls, e-mail, meetings, and video conferencing. This level of communications and leadership kept the staff moving forward and kept morale and spirits focused on the tasks at hand. We developed a response for the active duty military and National Guard requests for medical assistance, as over 3,000 military descended upon New York City and were in need of day-to-day medical and mental health care as their anxieties worsened.
We also had to deal quickly and effectively with a myriad of urgent issues including establishing heightened security at all locations, ensuring adequate supplies and pharmaceuticals (bringing in stock from other VA?s around the nation), working closely with EMSHG and other VA entities, communicating with employees and veterans, keeping a very compromised telecommunications system running throughout the network, protecting network-wide data bases in the event of additional attacks, dealing swiftly and accurately with media queries and planning for the aftermath.
In fact, my staff began planning for the fallout almost as soon as the crisis began. I activated the network?s VA Mental Health Executive Team, called in national assistance from the Vet Center leadership and developed a comprehensive approach to reach out to veteran patients and VA staff who were at risk to be affected by this tragedy. The team quickly developed a plan and letters and phone calls went to every patient in the network letting them know of the stressors they may be experiencing and how to get in touch with VA assistance. Counseling availability was arranged at every medical center and clinic for staff. We insisted that the VA have a high profile presence at the NYC and NJ Family Assistance Centers. Our outreach at these centers proved to be a model program for the victim?s families, veterans and emergency service workers and has been lauded both locally and nationally.
During and after the crisis we had to work with numerous agencies including; CDC, NY and NJ and local Departments of Health, National Guard, Active Duty Military, United States Postal Service, emergency service agencies, FEMA, GAO, U.S. Congress, and all facets of VA Headquarters leadership. Those activities are consuming and ongoing, but have provided an opportunity to raise emergency preparedness in VA to an entirely different level, as well as to enable VISN 3 locally - to significantly improve coordination and collaboration among our other public partners.
We also had to deal decisively to keep all of our medical centers operational in the wake of the potential for further attacks and numerous Anthrax reports and white powder incidents. These fears and concerns for every accumulation of white powder in a medical center could have shut the system down - given the hysteria of a hospital worker in NYC dying from exposure and the numerous letters to news media leaders in the city and the fallout from the NYC Morgan Street Postal Center. In New Jersey we were commended by the Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee for quick action to assist with Cipro prophylaxis for up 7,000 postal workers at the Chairman?s request. Working with Headquarters we developed a unique interagency memorandum and had the NJ VA Medical Centers poised to assist in this regard.
Since the tragedy has occurred we have ensured that all network staff and the medical center staff that have learned so much from living through such an event, have been open and available to the rest of the nation, the VA and others with advice and assistance. We hosted the VHA National Leadership Board and in short order pulled together a remarkable one-day learning session for all of VHA?s top management. We also hosted Secretary Principi in meetings and tours several times since the attacks, once with Chairman Chris Smith. I was asked to testify before congress on the VA?s Emergency Preparedness and gave lengthy testimony to GAO reviewers. We were asked to review the draft VHA Emergency Preparedness Manual and provide comments and advice, given our recent experience. We were also asked to share lessons learned in writing through an article for VHA Now and VAnguard.
The moral of this story is - that as a leader - you need to ensure that you have people that you can rely on in place - before a crisis ever occurs. You have to trust those staff and managers to do a great job and you have to provide them with all the support they need to handle the crisis.
Communications is the key to getting through any crisis. Constant and honest communications - moment by moment - kept my staff, VA Central Office, the community and our veterans assured that we were doing all the right things and all the necessary actions to keep moving forward.
Finally, keeping our mission to veterans and their families, and caring for the many VA employees in our Network - at the center of all actions - is critical to maintaing credibility and support during any crisis.
No Guidebook for 9-11
There is no guidebook for a tragedy like this. That is what I recently told the employees in all of the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) medical centers and clinics across the network that I manage in New York and New Jersey.. I also told them as we resolved major issues, managed emergent situations, deployed staff and cared for patients, we have been moving forward without the benefit of any previous similar experience. During this, the greatest national tragedy to touch our shores, I noted that it was each of them who are writing the new chapters for this guidebook. As we learn how to deal with the wounded, the distraught, the families, our own staff?s reactions, the media crush, the traffic, the smoke, the dust, our kids, our priorities and our new lives - we are gathering knowledge and skills that will be invaluable to the rest of the nation. The nation will want to know what we have learned and the hurdles we have crossed, and we have crossed many.
This tragedy was within extraordinarily close proximity of many of our VA New York City and New Jersey - medical centers and clinics and had a deep impact on the entire Network. We had to lead the Network through this single most violent act of war and terrorism that the country has ever sustained. Most important was to approach the disaster with compassion, determination and great focus. From the moment the crisis occurred I was in Headquarters at a meeting, and had to begin to manage and lead the network from a remote location. While this was extraordinarily frustrating for me I knew I had great people back in New York and New Jersey - ready to meet the challenge. For the first two days I was asked by VHA to remain in the VA Emergency Operations Center and assist in managing the crisis at the national level. However during this time I was setting in motion the Medical Center Directors and VISN staff to manage numerous aspects of this unfolding and ever-changing tragedy.
From the VA Emergency Operations Center, and when I returned to the Network, I knew how critical it would be to keep in constant communications with my directors, staff, front line employees and headquarters, utilizing conference calls, e-mail, meetings, and video conferencing. This level of communications and leadership kept the staff moving forward and kept morale and spirits focused on the tasks at hand. We developed a response for the active duty military and National Guard requests for medical assistance, as over 3,000 military descended upon New York City and were in need of day-to-day medical and mental health care as their anxieties worsened.
We also had to deal quickly and effectively with a myriad of urgent issues including establishing heightened security at all locations, ensuring adequate supplies and pharmaceuticals (bringing in stock from other VA?s around the nation), working closely with EMSHG and other VA entities, communicating with employees and veterans, keeping a very compromised telecommunications system running throughout the network, protecting network-wide data bases in the event of additional attacks, dealing swiftly and accurately with media queries and planning for the aftermath.
In fact, my staff began planning for the fallout almost as soon as the crisis began. I activated the network?s VA Mental Health Executive Team, called in national assistance from the Vet Center leadership and developed a comprehensive approach to reach out to veteran patients and VA staff who were at risk to be affected by this tragedy. The team quickly developed a plan and letters and phone calls went to every patient in the network letting them know of the stressors they may be experiencing and how to get in touch with VA assistance. Counseling availability was arranged at every medical center and clinic for staff. We insisted that the VA have a high profile presence at the NYC and NJ Family Assistance Centers. Our outreach at these centers proved to be a model program for the victim?s families, veterans and emergency service workers and has been lauded both locally and nationally.
During and after the crisis we had to work with numerous agencies including; CDC, NY and NJ and local Departments of Health, National Guard, Active Duty Military, United States Postal Service, emergency service agencies, FEMA, GAO, U.S. Congress, and all facets of VA Headquarters leadership. Those activities are consuming and ongoing, but have provided an opportunity to raise emergency preparedness in VA to an entirely different level, as well as to enable VISN 3 locally - to significantly improve coordination and collaboration among our other public partners.
We also had to deal decisively to keep all of our medical centers operational in the wake of the potential for further attacks and numerous Anthrax reports and white powder incidents. These fears and concerns for every accumulation of white powder in a medical center could have shut the system down - given the hysteria of a hospital worker in NYC dying from exposure and the numerous letters to news media leaders in the city and the fallout from the NYC Morgan Street Postal Center. In New Jersey we were commended by the Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee for quick action to assist with Cipro prophylaxis for up 7,000 postal workers at the Chairman?s request. Working with Headquarters we developed a unique interagency memorandum and had the NJ VA Medical Centers poised to assist in this regard.
Since the tragedy has occurred we have ensured that all network staff and the medical center staff that have learned so much from living through such an event, have been open and available to the rest of the nation, the VA and others with advice and assistance. We hosted the VHA National Leadership Board and in short order pulled together a remarkable one-day learning session for all of VHA?s top management. We also hosted Secretary Principi in meetings and tours several times since the attacks, once with Chairman Chris Smith. I was asked to testify before congress on the VA?s Emergency Preparedness and gave lengthy testimony to GAO reviewers. We were asked to review the draft VHA Emergency Preparedness Manual and provide comments and advice, given our recent experience. We were also asked to share lessons learned in writing through an article for VHA Now and VAnguard.
The moral of this story is - that as a leader - you need to ensure that you have people that you can rely on in place - before a crisis ever occurs. You have to trust those staff and managers to do a great job and you have to provide them with all the support they need to handle the crisis.
Communications is the key to getting through any crisis. Constant and honest communications - moment by moment - kept my staff, VA Central Office, the community and our veterans assured that we were doing all the right things and all the necessary actions to keep moving forward.
Finally, keeping our mission to veterans and their families, and caring for the many VA employees in our Network - at the center of all actions - is critical to maintaing credibility and support during any crisis.
Collection
Citation
“story2759.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 8, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/19430.