Tragedy Close to Home

I live in a suburb of Indianapolis. On the night of Aug. 13, my husband, stepdaughter and I attended a lovely dinner party, which had to be moved inside due to a sudden storm that packed some wind with it.  As we were driving home from the dinner party, my sister called me from Cincinnati with a bit of anxiousness in her voice, and said, “Did you hear about what happened at the fair?” We had not. She reported to me an event that continues to reverberate around Indianapolis and Cincinnati. As everyone now knows, a stage collapsed during a concert at the Indianapolis State Fair. My sister’s neighbors were among the many injured and one of their traveling companions died.

It sent a chill through me. Her neighbors, a mom and two daughters, were at the concert with their friend and cheerleading coach, Meagan Toothman, who died as a result of her injuries. Meagan was a young, vibrant role model who was taken from her family and mentees way before her time. Although my sister’s neighbors continue to recover, it’s been a rough road so far, and I am guessing that they have a long road ahead. The neighbor’s older daughter was my nephew’s prom date; Meagan was the daughter of my niece’s teacher. It’s truly a small world. You just never know how tragedy is going to impact your family, your hospital or those you know. It reminded me that life is truly precious and can change in an instant.

As I watched events unfold on television that night, one scene really struck me. A film crew captured a nurse or physician in scrubs running into the hospital, still carrying her shoes. Faced with more than 40 patients who needed care, several hospitals in Indianapolis received victims, but most were sent to this caregiver’s hospital.

It made me think about how most of the hospitals had to initiate their emergency plans, calling staff and physicians out of their beds on a stormy night to care for people in need. I am thankful for people like that provider who ran in bare feet to get to those patients. That’s dedication to her profession, to helping others. I would bet that that night reaffirmed for her why she went into health care in the first place.

It can be easy for staff and physicians to lose sight of why they do their job – to care for people in need. All of our policies, rules, computer systems and staffing guidelines can get in the way and monopolize our thoughts and our day. But in the end, and hopefully the beginning and the middle, we don’t lose sight of the patient in the bed who needs care. It’s really the job of health care leaders to ensure staff and physicians have the best environment in place so they can provide excellent care and a quality experience for each and every patient. You just never know who that patient is going to be – he or she could turn out to be a friend, a neighbor or a family member. Even if not, the person needing care is someone’s loved one.

I commend all the hospital staff members who rose to the occasion and ran to those in need to provide care and expertise. I hope for the best recovery possible for my sister’s neighbors and the same for the others who suffered injuries or the loss of a loved one in this tragedy. And thanks to the lady in scrubs, running to the hospital to help – you gave me hope.