Snowvember to remember! SNOWVEMBER November 22-23, 2014
Throughout the storm, stranded visitors took shelter at the hospital and created makeshift residences in the waiting areas and lounges. In above photo, visitors had pushed chairs together to create their beds. Some stayed through Saturday.
Pictured above, EVS staff Johnathan Hendrix, right, and Eanoch Montanez take the cots down in the conference rooms on Sunday. They had been set up for temporary sleeping areas.
Governor Cuomo and Mayor Brown held a news conference on Sunday, Nov. 23 in front of the hospital to announce the lifting of the driving bans and to discuss preparations for flooding.
Right after Code Green — all clear — was announced on Sunday, Catholic Health COO Mark Sullivan captured this photo of a beautiful rainbow that appeared over the Southtowns.
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Pictured here announcing the lifting of the driving ban in South Buffalo are: Deputy Mayor Ellen Grant, Catholic Health COO Mark Sullivan, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Mercy Hospital President & CEO C.J. Urlaub. How did we do it? The resounding answer was “teamwork.” It was stories like the Environmental Services team who had 14 people out of a full staff of 104 keeping the entire hospital clean and helping with sleeping areas, linen and toiletries, and the team of about a dozen Dietary staff serving an estimated 10,000 meals through Saturday. We were truly a Mercy team going above and beyond!
Acting NY Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, MD visited with staff on Sun., November 23. Pictured above are McAuley 7th floor staff: (front, l.-r.)Daneen Proctor; Kelly Schoenfelder, Meghan Quinn, and Angela Ehlenfield. (back, l.-r.) Maher Said, Dr. Zucker, Marycaye Vanderlinden, and Kim West. Catholic Health and Mercy Hospital’s outstanding response to the storm drew national attention. “The thing that I am most proud of is how we kept everybody safe,” said Mercy Hospital President & CEO C.J. Urlaub. “We kept our patients safe; we kept our staff safe; and we kept our community safe.”
In above photo, members of the Mercy Hospital Executive Team and Facilities & Engineering staff hold a planning session for potential flooding issues. Just when everybody thought it was over, hospital leaders and the Facilities team kicked into high gear again on Saturday to prepare for the threat of flooding. Three pallets of sand bags were in place and emergency plans were ready. Fortunately, the weather cooperated and the melting did not occur as quickly as expected. As a result, flooding was not a problem.
Pictured above: ICU nurses Jeanine Davis, RN, left, and Diane Edwards, RN, are greeted by NYS Health Commissioner Howard Zucker.
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ercy started looking back to normal on Sunday, November 23 as associates were making their way in and out of the hospital. Mayor Byron Brown and Governor Andrew Cuomo held a news conference in front of the hospital to announce that the South Buffalo driving ban had been lifted. They also reported on preparation efforts for potential flooding. Afterwards, Mercy Hospital CEO C.J. Urlaub and Catholic Health COO Mark Sullivan were interviewed by reporters from the New York Times and Wall Street Journal about the system’s incredible response during this historic storm. Later in the day, acting NYS Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker toured the hospital.
Storm Stories Sonya Tramp, RN, of 8 McAuley East, tells her storm story. “On my way to work Tuesday morning, I made it to Abbott and Stevenson around 6:15 am where at nearly 39 weeks pregnant, I got very stuck in the snow! Luckily, I had an emergency kit and shovel in my Jeep. I shoveled for a while and a city plow driver tried to help, but we were unable to move my Jeep....I decided to shovel one more time, and amazingly, I became free and drove the few remaining blocks to work where I stayed until Thursday morning...The best part about this story was that just 5 hours after I made it home, I was on my way to Sisters Hospital with my husband, to deliver my baby girl. If it wasn’t for my amazing coworkers, I wouldn’t have had nearly the same experience. Thank you so much to the incredible staff of 8 McAuley East!”