Two WellSpan Health team members are sharing their experiences as the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Dr. John Turner, interim vice president of medical affairs and a surgeon at WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital, was attending a surgical conference in Manhattan when the attacks occurred. Turner and other health care professionals were taken by bus to hospitals preparing to treat victims.
Turner said medical teams waited for survivors, but fewer arrived than initially expected. He recalled hospital employees remaining ready to help despite having relatives or friends at the World Trade Center.
Turner previously served in the U.S. Navy and was deployed to the Middle East with the U.S. Marine Corps. He said his experience in New York reinforced his belief in servant leadership and showed how people united to care for one another.
WellSpan hospice chaplain Ricky Phillips has participated in remembrance activities connected to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville. His involvement has included delivering a liturgy at the nearby Remember Me Memorial and helping plant trees in memory of those killed.
After the attacks, Phillips was activated through Army Chaplaincy under the 28th Division chaplain. He led a Family Assistance Center that supported military families whose loved ones were deployed in response to the attacks.
Phillips has served as a hospice chaplain for two decades. He said the response to Sept. 11 demonstrated the role of firefighters, police officers, health care professionals, neighbors and friends in helping others during a crisis.
Both men said the lessons of Sept. 11 include compassion, service, resilience and caring for others.
Photo credits to WellSpan Health
