The Goodness and Compassion of Emergency Nurses Everywhere

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Dear Editor:

I have been a loyal ED nurse and ENA member for years, and I believe the following story is worthy of mention, and one you might find touching. This story demonstrates the goodness and compassion of ED nurses everywhere—heroes saving lives each and every day.

I recently read, with much enthusiasm, the article published in the June 2007 issue of ENA Connection about ENA members caring for Virginia Tech shooting victims, and I could not help but share my story with you.

On November 20, 2006, our day started out much like one in most inner-city emergency departments—busy but not overwhelming. We had patients held over from the night shift, a few waiting in the lobby, and a few waiting on inpatient beds. Things were flowing as usual until around 10 am, when we received the initial call informing us that a school bus had crashed. More than 30 students were brought to the Huntsville Hospital Emergency Department. Among the injured were 4 young women who sustained major head injuries and later died. This tragedy made national news.

In Boston, Massachusetts, at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Emergency Department, nurses heard about the tragic event and performed a most honorable gesture—they bought lunch for the staff of Huntsville Hospital Emergency Department and had it delivered the next day. On November 21, 2006, at 11:30 am, several pizzas arrived with a note attached that read, “To: All Emergency Room nurses; From: Your emergency nursing colleagues at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston. We are there with you, keep up the good work.”

So, in March 2007, when a deadly tornado swept through Enterprise, Alabama, killing several high school students, and when a bus crash occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, where Ohio college baseball players were injured and killed, the ED nurses from Huntsville Hospital collected money and had pizza delivered to the ED staff at Medical Center Enterprise in Alabama and to Grady Memorial in Atlanta, Georgia.

The nursing staff in the emergency department at Huntsville Hospital has created a “pay it forward” fund. The fund is managed by the ED disaster coordinator, and nurses make financial contributions to the fund. When we hear of a disastrous event in a local community, we send pizzas to the local emergency department.

The staff at Huntsville Hospital clearly has not forgotten the kind act of caring, compassion, and thoughtfulness by the staff of Beth Israel Deaconess—that is why we want to continue to “pay it forward.”