The personal stories of the event, especially of the one paramedic whose name I didn't catch (Hispanic, Female). The emotional tellings of the events were incrediably visceral. I cannot conceive a scenario worse than what they had to deal with.
The number of emergency workers lost during 9/11:
343 Fire Fighters - http://nyfd.com/9_11_wtc.html
60 Police Officers
8 EMTs and Paramedics - http://www.world-memorial.org/Tribute/EMS/medics.html
EMS Lesson's Learned from 9/11
http://www.jems.com/articles/2006/08/lessons-learned-911.html
Changes were made to the mutual aid system. Resources that had, in the event, run out or were needed sooner than they were used are now better stocked and available. Some new trainings were implemented.
More stories from 9/11 by EMS
http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/mck_report/ems_response.pdf
Social forces such as racism, gender inequality and poverty impact health issues, determining who becomes ill and who can access proper healthcare. This interaction is imperative to understand when looking at broader public health. While understanding the molecular basis of disease will help us prevent illness, addressing biosocial phenomena is critical to public health
This report was produce by compiling historical events and vignettes of the investigation process following several prolific tragedies. They are compared, and conclusions are drawn about similar aspects that muddle investigation following one of these tragedies.
The entire study is focused on vulnerable populations – particularly those who due to racial or economic divides, do not have proper access to healthcare, or may be affected by factors such as poor housing and malnutrition.
Emergency responders and doctors are portrayed in the film with the upmost dedication, skill, and care for life. They were portrayed as the heroes of this disaster.
They could have discussed logistics on transport and mass treatments more, but overall they did a good job.
-The “disaster investigation,” far from proving itself the dispassionate, scientific verdict on causality and blame, actually emerges as a hard-fought contest to define the moment in politics and society, in technology and culture.
-Investigators had no power to protest the decision. In fact, their initial request to inspect the steel had been lost in the confusion by city officials still pressed with the responsibility of looking for bodies.
-Clashes over authority among powerful institutions both public and private, competition among rival experts for influence, inquiry into a disaster elevated to the status of a memorial for the dead: these are the base elements of the World Trade Center investigation. And yet, give a brief historical review shows us these elements are not unique.
On a day to day basis as a healthcare professional, this isn’t very important outside of a teaching and understanding standpoint. A disease is, first and foremost, a disease, and needs to be treated accordingly. While healthcare professionals should educate their patients about risk factors that could lead to their increased likelihood of illness, as well as understand and appreciate why some populations are more vulnerable than others, it does not assist in direct disease treatment.
As discussed before, the first respodners and doctors had to deal with hundreds of life or death decisions, and the emotional trauma that is involved, through treating the victims of the disaster. Afterward many of these people not only had to see patients pass, but also had friends or family that perished in the disaster.