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PEP Archives | May 2002
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One of 125,000
DC
37 Everyday
heroes
Hard Hat Nurse
For Charlene LaGreca, a Public Health Nurse and member of Local
436, the mayhem of Sept. 11 erupted as soon as she got to work that
morning. Minutes after she arrived at Staten Island's PS 80 for another
day of dispensing medication, meeting with parents and making referrals,
the school received a bomb threat.
"There was no
other place to be," said Charlene LaGreca, who used her
vacation days to work at Ground Zero. Her experience amid
the rubble and the bodies "changed my whole life."
Despite shock and fear, everyone was safely evacuated. Almost as soon
as the bomb squad arrived, they raced off to answer the terror attacks
at the World Trade Center.
And after the parents picked up their children, Ms. LaGreca joined the
hundreds of dedicated and courageous volunteers who provided emergency
assistance at Ground Zero.
She helped organize a medical station and administered respiratory treatments
and eye washes to Police Officers, Firefighters and rescue workers.
She joined the "bucket brigade" removing debris and body parts
and even directed traffic at a busy intersection.
"I did whatever I could to help," said Ms. LaGreca, who is
also the local's Staten Island borough rep. "It was very chaotic
down there during the first couple of days. The National Guard was on
every corner."
Every day from Sept. 11 until the beginning of October, she followed
an arduous schedule. After her regular shift at PS 80, she worked at
Ground Zero until well past midnight before heading back home to Staten
Island. With only a couple of hours sleep, she would go to work the
next morning and then head back to the disaster site.
"I just had to be there and help. There was no other place to be,"
said Ms. LaGreca, who also used her vacation days to work at the site.
Her experience amid the rubble and the bodies "changed my whole
life," she said. Since then, she has lost weight, had nightmares
and developed a heightened sense of smell. "The odor is something
that I'll never forget."
When the anthrax attacks hit, Ms. LaGreca and several other nurses from
Local 436 pitched in again. They tested thousands of people - including
the staff of the New York Post and local NBC reporters Janice Huff and
Len Berman at the Rockefeller Center studios.
Firefighters and Police have received tremendous recognition for their
rescue efforts, "and deservedly so," said Local 436 President
Gloria Acevedo. "But Public Health Nurses like Charlene LaGreca
kept them going and made invaluable contributions of their own."
— Alfredo Alvarado