Still in the Dark?

According to Newsday.com,  LIPA reports there are still more than 240,000 homes without power as of Tuesday at 5pm.

Are you still without power? How has this impacted your week? Share your story with us by commenting below or emailing jmucha@nshs.edu.

Got Power?

A massive tree takes down the power lines in a Plainview, NY neighborhood.  The North Shore-LIJ anonymous team member who submitted this picture said you could turn down a block and there'd be trees down everywhere, and on the next block, no damage at all.

View from a residential area off Washington Avenue in Plainview, NY

Responding To Irene

LIJ - All Hands on Deck

The Long Island Jewish Medical Center staff as always pulled together with all hands on deck to assure that they were ready to accept evacuated patients and that the facility could withstand the storm.  There was plenty of camaraderie, caring and  caffeine in the Command Center.  The number of staff who spent the night was amazing- patient safety truly comes first at LIJMC. Great job LIJMC!

Orzac Rehab Center is "Blown Away" by Dedicated Staff

Orzac is “Blown Away” by how caring the staff was for the patients, families, and each other.  Here at Orzac the staff volunteered to cover shifts for those who lived in flood zones and picked up co-workers to ensure they would be able to get to work safely.  Many employees took part in rounding to the patients and residents whose loved ones were not able to visit.  The staff added activities late into Saturday night and early Sunday morning to keep the building calm.  The PT & OT gyms were cleared to set up sleeping quarters for the staff.  There were so many selfless acts of kindness by the Orzac team members.  The compliments of the visiting patients & their families from Komanoff Center for Geriatric & Rehab Medicine were “pouring in”.  Once again the staff proved what an amazing team we have here at Orzac.  Exceptional Job!

On Sunday,  Barbara Southard, the Deputy Executive Director of Orzac captured the storm slamming into Baldwin Habor in these unbelievable photos.

Long Beach Damage

Ilene Rudy-Slatkin from the Medical Ethics Office shared these photos of the storm damage near where she lives in Long Beach, NY.



This lifeguard house was physically moved during the storm.

 

The middle of West Broadway at National Blvd.



Massive waves in Long Beach



 Patricia Farrell from LIJ Medical Center also lives in Long Beach and snapped these photos of the  storm's aftermath.



Surveying the damage



Beach damage



Hurricane Bingo

Erin O'Brien the Adolescent Unit Child Life Specialist at Cohen Children's was the creative host of "Hurricane Bingo" on Sunday for the MeTV channel at the hospital.

Saturday Night at Cohen Children's Hospital

Jamie Sacca, a Creative Arts Therapist at Cohen Children's Medical Center shared this photo of their Hurricane Irene sleeping arrangements. The members of the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy team spent Saturday night snoozing in the Med 3 playroom.

Freeport Flooding

Rose Grosso of Ambulatory Electronic Health Records shared these photos of her backyard in Freeport, NY. The photo was taken during a full moon high tide and you can see the canal water rising above the bulkhead, flooding first the yard and eventually the house. Unfortunately, Rose's home sustained significant damage during and after the storm, but more importantly Rose and her family are safe.

New Hyde Park Photos

Carol Boyer in Corporate Human Resources shared these photos of sidewalks being damaged from downed trees on her block in New Hyde Park.

 

Scrabble Time

A team member who lives in the Salisbury section of Nassau County shared this photo of what helped her pass the time this weekend. As of Tuesday am- she is still without electricity and imagines there may be more candle-lit Scrabble games for her in the very near future!

Watch for Falling Trees

A team member shared this photo of a large tree down in her neighborhood. She spent the weekend inside with her loved ones and was lucky to report no severe property damage or power outages at her house in Westbury.

Team Spirit in Epilepsy & EEG

Here is a recap of the weekend anticipating Hurricane Irene at LIJ hospital. The details below were extracted from an email sent by a Nurse Practitioner in the Neurology/EEG department.

Saturday:

8pm-Arrived at LIJ for “on-call” shift

815pm- Was directed on the phone by the energetic Natalia Pobutkiwiecz as to where we should sign in to sleep, what eating arrangements had been made, and then soon after retired to our “sleeping quarters” for the night

Sunday:

7:15am- Phones ringing off the hook- the energetic Natalia calling to let us know that breakfast was ready in the cafeteria

7:30am- Breakfast of cafeteria cuisine

All day- Very busy with patients, EEG Reviews for the Epilepsy Center, Quality Management chart reviews and lots of administrative duties

It was a long weekend at the hospital, but overall I developed stronger bonds with my coworkers and we really got things done.

Glen Cove for the Weekend

Stacy Monsanto who works on the Brain Injury Unit at Southside Hospital shared this photo of Hurricane Irene's damage. She spent the weekend with her patients at Glen Cove Hospital and snapped this picture of a downed tree blocking the road as she was out getting lunch.

Eye of the Storm

Jerry Scherer, the Associate Executive Director of Support Services at Forest Hills Hospital shared this photo he took from the roof of the garage next to the hospital as the Eye of the Storm passed over NYC. 

Health System Command Center

Chief Medical Officer Jeremy Boal shared this photo, he spent the past 5 days with his colleagues  preparing the entire system for Hurricane Irene at the Emergency Command Center.

Plainview Hurricane Damage

One team member in Plainview NY sent this photo showing a tree uprooting itself taking the concrete sidewalk with it. Power has been restored at Plainview and neighboring Syosset Hospital, which were fully operational with emergency back-up generators.

Fully Prepared

Dr. John Wagner captured this photo Saturday afternoon outside of the North Shore-LIJ Satellite Dialysis Facility. 

The Emergency Management team delivered this generator to the facility in the event of power loss during the hurricane. Luckily, the facility didn't lose power during the storm and the generator wasn't needed. 

Sleepover at Southside

Team members came up with creative solutions to get some rest at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore during Hurricane Irene. 

Planning our Response

Leaders from across the health system have been stationed at our Emergency Medical Services Command Center since the first news of Hurricane Irene heading our way.

Safely Transporting Patients

Our amazing EMS teams went above and beyond to safely transport hundreds of patients to safety during the eye of the storm.

Thank You from President & CEO, Michael Dowling

North Shore-LIJ employees and physicians have gone way above and beyond the call of duty over the past week. I am incredibly proud and thankful for how North Shore-LIJ employees, physicians, patients, their family members and the community at large prepared and responded to the challenges posed by Hurricane Irene-the first hurricane to hit the metro NY area in 26 years.

There’s really no better way to gauge the true character of an individual, an organization or a community than to see how they respond during an emergency. We should all be very proud of our teamwork to ensure the health and safety of our community at such a time of personal concern. My sincere thanks to all who have contributed to what we would consider to be an extraordinary effort by this health system to do the right thing for our patients and the communities who rely on us. Well done.