MUSC employees help victims of Hurricane Sandy

by Ashley Barker
Pubilc Relations

Days after Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast of the United States — leveling neighborhoods, flooding streets and killing more than a hundred people — three MUSC employees were deployed to New York to provide medical assistance to homeless victims.

Philippe Gresle, director of business reporting and IT in the Department of Pediatrics; Sean Carroll, patient care technician on 6 East; and Amy Funderburk, a nurse in the neuroscience intensive care unit; were sent to Manhattan and Long Island for a two-week medical deployment as part of the Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT). Most states in America have one or more DMAT teams — consisting of doctors, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, etc. — that work under the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), a federal program that sends teams of medical professionals into emergency areas and disaster zones.

Sean Carroll, from left, Amy Funderburk, R.N., and Philippe Gresle, were deployed to New York to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy through the Disaster Medical Assistance Team.

Thirty five members of South Carolina's DMAT were deployed at dawn on Nov. 3, with only a few hours' notice, to relieve a team from California and returned home in time for Thanksgiving. During that time, Carroll, who has been a member of DMAT since 2002, worked 192 hours. This wasn't his first interaction with victims of a natural disaster. He was deployed to Galveston, Texas, after hurricanes Gustav and Ike hit, and to Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina to help with electronic medical records that keep track of patients.

"Being out there with patients who are telling you their story, you just feel like that's what you need to do," Carroll said. "They were telling us that they lost everything. One of our patients was saying that he was so grateful that we were there to help him. He was thankful that he had people watching over him 24 hours-a-day, a roof over his head, three square meals a day, and all the help he needed."

Carroll, Gresle and Funderburk spent the majority of their deployment in a gymnasium at Nassau Community College that was transformed into a shelter for nearly 800 people. They each took enough food and water to survive for 72 hours without draining the local resources, and they slept on small cots after working 16 – 18 hour days.

"It just changes some perspectives here at MUSC on how patients are handling their situation, even though they haven't lost their house here when they're in the hospital," Carroll said.

The team's main responsibilities included providing medication refills to patients who had time-sensitive needs such as cardiac conditions or diabetes. The team was also concerned with emergencies and an outbreak of the norovirus, or GI bug.

"Their doctors are not reachable. The pharmacies are all destroyed," Gresle, who spent 10 years as an EMT for Charleston County, said. "It was a pretty heavy logistical nightmare."

The city of Manhattan was completely eerie, according to Gresle. "We were standing in the middle of Broadway, and there wasn't a single car running and maybe 10 people in the street. It was like they had shut down the city to shoot a movie. It was like the apocalypse."

Living in what seemed like the end of the world helped create an intense bond for everyone involved. The patients knew that the DMAT members were on rotating shifts so that someone would always be available, but they also knew that eventually the teams would be replaced with new ones. That didn't stop one patient from connecting with Gresle, though.

"You're becoming their little rock of sanity when they've lost everything," he said. Gresle remembers an 80-year-old lady, who he described as frail, abrasive and a little demanding. She was alone at the shelter and was constantly complaining.

Gresle took five minutes one evening to talk with her about her family. When he was done, he told her good night and stood up to leave. With a sudden look of sadness, she asked him, "Are you going to be back tomorrow?" He explained to her that his shift was over, but he would return the next day. She responded, "Oh good. That gives me something to look forward to."

"A hurricane swept her house away. That's how quickly it happened. She might have lived in that house her whole life, for all we know," Gresle said. "Then she lost everything. Literally, she had her clothes and a bag. The fact that she needed something to look forward to the next day, that was very touching."

Moments like that are what pushed the team members to continue working.

"Whether you're an EMT or a nurse, we've all experienced the craziness of a demanding shift. But it's still fairly short in time. Then you go back to your home," Gresle said. "The craziness lasted for two weeks. For two weeks, you don't go back to a good night's sleep. You're on non-stop. It's exhilarating but at the same time it's very draining."

The DMAT team members from MUSC spent the majority of their medical deployment in a gymnasium at Nassau Community College that was transformed into a shelter.

Gresle said that one of the South Carolina team members explained the deployment in the best way. He said, "These were the longest two weeks ever, but they went by like a breeze."

Funderburk felt the same way when she returned home. "It was fabulous," she said. "It's kind of a horrible thing to say because it was such a sad situation. But we were fortunate to be so welcomed by the people in New York. Even in the airport, they were clapping for us."

She also developed a connection with one of her patients, a 95-year-old man who lost his home and all of his belongings during the storm, including pictures of his deceased wife.

"Every day he got up and was walking around saying 'good morning' and 'how are you doing today?' It really showed the human spirit," she said. "He had an unbelievable attitude, and it really made me look at my life and the things I take for granted."

When their deployment was finished, the South Carolina team was replaced by teams from Arizona and Alaska. The members of South Carolina's DMAT will soon go back on emergency call on a rotating basis. To find out more information, visit http://ndms.dhhs.gov.

Friday, Dec. 7, 2012