On Thursday February 22nd as we waited for guests to arrive at my daughter’s birthday party, we were watching the news. I was in the kitchen when I heard it….“a man drove a car into Middlesex Hospital and lit himself on fire”. I couldn’t believe what I just thought I heard. I had to be wrong. There’s no way that can happen. Not Middlesex Hospital. I finished what I was doing and joined in to my husband and friends in the living room talking about what I thought I just heard too. I sat down on the couch (something I rarely ever do) and immediately took my phone out to check the news online. And there it was. I found 3 different articles about the topic. All of them stating no one was injured. I texted my friend and co-worker from Middlesex who was on her way to the party if she had heard about this and find out anything else. I proceeded to read more….
My heart and mind is filled with so many different emotions right now. Middlesex Hospital was my home for 7 years. It is where I first started my nursing career. It is where I spent my entire nursing career thus far. I learned and experienced everything there, the good, the bad and the ugly from every angle. And the one thing I cherish the most about Middlesex are the people. I was fortunate enough to work with an amazingly talented, kind hearted, courageous group of people, who when it mattered most were there not only for the patients, but for each other. I am truly blessed for having had the privilege to have worked with every single one of them. And although I parted ways with Middlesex for multiple reasons, primarily being to be a full time caregiver to my ill grandfather and mother, it holds a very special place in my heart. It has been 7 months since I left, and when I think of Middlesex I think of my co-workers, and all the fun we had. Even though working in an Emergency department there are a lot of trying times, in retrospect I remember the good first. I am really devastated this happened, but also extremely grateful everyone is safe. But I’m also angry, sad and confused. How is it that we live in a world where things like this happen ALL the time??? How can someone drive a car into a hospital? Shoot up a school? Shoot an unarmed person? This is crazy. It is scary. No one should have to live like that. But sadly, it is the society we live in today. Impulsive and unconscious behavior without regard of the consequences of one’s actions upon others reigns supreme.
Bringing it back to what happened at Middlesex, our healthcare workers should not have to worry about their safety. They are there to help people. They are the ones who are at work thru any situation, weather conditions, disasters ect. The Emergency Department is always staffed with remarkable people who are there to take care of patients and their families. They not only care for the patients, but the families as well proving emotional support and comfort during difficult times. I can’t tell you how many times the staff has gone above and beyond to ensure patients are happy, comfortable and well taken care of. The dedication, responsibility, integrity and love the Middlesex ED staff have is unlike any other. This amazing team has faced a lot of adversity through the years, from changes in staff to staffing shortages, but they have always banded together to do what needed to be done for the patients and each other. From swapping and covering shift, helping with each other’s patient assignments, tag teaming a critical patient or just being the shoulder to cry on……this is what the Middlesex Emergency Department staff does. It is a family, and I am forever grateful to each and every one of them because they have impacted me and my growth, not only as a nurse but as a woman as well. All of my major life experiences from motherhood to becoming a full time caregiver occurred while I worked there. And thru all of my difficult times, they displayed the same love and compassion that brings us into this profession and helped as much as they could. And I love them very much for that. I am only one example of the Middlesex ED family.
This is why what happened is so devastating to me. People may not think of working in a hospital as a risk, but it is. The Emergency Department is the most vulnerable area in a hospital for something to happen. They are the first responders caring for a diverse population of patients, from drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, ect. The staff is exposed to a multitude of risk. Physical and verbal assaults from patients when you are trying to help them has become the norm. Everyone working in the ED, from security, nurses, techs, and even doctors have all rushed in to help with potentially dangerous situations with violent patients. The department works in unity. But this doesn’t change the fact patients assault and threaten staff all the time. It is real. We have seen it before and increasing in the past year. From hospital shootings like at West Marion Community Hosptial (Ocala, Florida), a 40 year ED nurse veteran stabbed in triage (Harrington Hospital, Southbridge Massachusetts), to a nurse being held hostage, tortured and raped in (Delnor Hospital, Chicago Illinois). Violence toward healthcare workers is becoming more prevalent. This is the reality we are living in today. It is a nationwide problem. And the fact someone intentionally crashed their vehicle and lit themselves on fire is an act of violence targeting the hospital. Of all the placed to commit an act of violence, even against yourself, why would you choose to impact a hospital where there are innocent people, ill people who are vulnerable. The true magnitude of the severity of this incident needs to be understood to be motivated to make change. This individual crashed their car into the emergency department entrance. Crashing directing into the waiting room and triage area. All staff, the patients in the waiting room waiting to be seen, from infant to elderly not only in the ED, but above in the critical care units where the majority of patients are on ventilators and connected to other crucial medical equipment to keep them alive. Or the patients being treated in the ED, who are critical, in pain, ventilated, having active medical emergencies endangered. This is a complete disregard of human life from this individual and its truly disgusting.
I hope that this incident is a catalyst for positive changes and inspires reflection. We need to take responsibility to the broken state our society is in, come together and come up with solutions. How do we create social change? What changes can we make individually and as a collective to help each other? Besides increasing security, mental health screening and taking any and all potential threats seriously, what can do we? What can we do as a community to help our people by addressing the issues that plague it? These are questions need some thought……what are your thoughts?
Nevertheless, my love is with every single person who works in the Middlesex Hospital ED. I know the strength of our ED Family. I am grateful everyone is safe, and is pushing forward, even caring for patients from a mobile ED since their ED is temporary closed due to the crash. This is a minor set back for a major come back. I am confident they will rebuild bigger and better. #middlesexstrong
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