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Activities' American Spirit at Work in NY
Facilities
by Kathy Hughes, ADC
Vice President, NCCAP
President, AALTP
The
terrorist tragedies of September 11 were seen throughout
the world in our homes and also in nursing homes, retirement
centers, assisted living and day service centers. Residents
and staff watched in horror as the World Trade Center,
the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania were touched
by terror. Facilities across New York pulled out the
red disaster binders to find out what to do next.
Nursing
homes in New York City were asked to fill their beds
with patients from hospitals to make way for victims
needing acute care. Veterans Administration Centers
were ready to evacuate their resi-dents to upstate facilities
in case a need for their beds arose. Time spent on disaster
planning made sure the lives of those living in long
term care facilities were not disrupted. We all watched
and were ready to help in anyway we could.
Residents
and staff waited anxiously to hear about loved ones
who were working, living, and visiting the areas affected.
New York facilities offered residents, their fam-ilies
and their staffs the opportunity to use their facilities'
phones and computers to contact family members. Many
NY facili-ties had at least one person directly affect-ed
by the attack.
In
the days after the attack, residents made red, white
and blue ribbons, hearts, and anything they could use
to raise money for the American Red Cross, Salvation
Army, United Way, and Firefighter and Police Associations.
They donated many hours - and their unwa-vering American
spirit - to assist fellow citizens in need. Current
events programs took on a whole new meaning, and reli-gious
services were attended by both res-idents and staff
in the facilities.
The
Activities Association for Leisure Time Personnel of
New York State (AALTP) would like to thank those who
contacted us to offer their help. The Wisconsin Resident
Activity Professionals (WRAP) called our state contact
to offer their assistance. AALTP would like to thank
them for their concern and their prayers. We have contacted
our fellow activity professionals that were and remain
in the line of fire, and their facili-ties are doing
just fine. Thank you for all that you do and all the
prayers for our res-idents and their families.
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