Nursing

Blog Post: Before the Plane Crash

Nurse Leader Insider, December 6, 2018

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In January 2009, all eyes were focused on the Hudson River after a plane flying out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport struck a flock of geese and crash landed in the river. Thanks to fast acting by the pilots, all 155 passengers survived, with few major injuries, in the disaster dubbed “the Miracle on the Hudson.” However, trouble emerged in the aftermath when people tried to find out which hospital their loved ones had been sent to.

“Some of the patients went to New York and some went to New Jersey. And because of HIPAA laws, it was very difficult for airline authorities to get the names of who was where,” says Sharon Carlson, RN, director of Emergency Preparedness at Sharp HealthCare in San Diego, CA. “As a family member you can imagine your terror knowing that your loved one was in a plane crash and not knowing where they are. That’s a big issue we always have, reunifying people after a disaster.”

Read the full story on The Leaders' Lounge blog.



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