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Cedar Community: Life the way it should be. The way you want it.

9/11 . . . it’s been 10 years since the demise of the World Trade Centers in New York at the hand of terrorists. While there is healing, there will always be memories.

It is certainly appropriate to hear the stories of the tragedy and the heroism of that took place at all of the sites of the tragedies of that terrible day. We can not forget the courage and the death of the innocent at the site of the Pentagon and of those on Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, along with the World Trade Center and surrounding buildings.

At the 10th anniversary of 9/11, we focus on the sites, sounds, people, stories and the depth of the tragedy that has changed the world forever. But 9/11 was not only experienced by people at the airplane crash sites, it was a personal event experienced by every American.

Here in the ‘heartland’ of America, 911 had profound affects. As a nursing home administrator I witnessed something extraordinary. I remember being in the nursing home hallways on September 11th 2001. Residents had their televisions blaring as news reports announced the epic tragedy. I saw our younger nurses and nursing assistants in complete fear and confusion. They were very worried about their children in school. They were worried about their spouses, partners, parents, friends and neighbors. With the crashing of more airplanes . . . a second World Trade Center building, then the Pentagon, then an airplane headed toward the Capitol that ended with the crash of Flight #93 in a field in Pennsylvania, our nurses seemed to be nearer and nearer to emotional ‘break-down.’ After all, most of our younger nursing home staff had never really experienced a national tragedy.

At this point I started witnessing something wonderful and it was being replicated throughout the entire nursing home. I witnessed that residents were inviting the nursing staff into their rooms. They told them how they had experienced other national tragedies such as: the bombing of Pearl Harbor; the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King; the tragedies of World War II, Vietnam, Korea; and other such events.

I witnessed the residents comforting and consoling the nursing home staff. They assured them that their families and loved ones would be all right. They talked about the strength of the nation, the resolve of its leaders, the resilience of all Americans. Residents offered prayers. Listened to staff concerns. Provided words of hope. They took charge. They calmed things down. They provided care to the caregivers!

Out of the tragedy of 9/11, I will always remember a little bit of good that happened that day. For it truly was the day that the Nursing Home Residents took care of the nurses!