Reflections on I-10 Bus Crash: Thankful For Our Community

March 15, 2018

A few minutes after 6 a.m. on March 13, a call came in to Sacred Heart Hospital’s Emergency Department. A bus of high school students traveling home to Houston from a band competition at Disney World had plunged down a steep ravine on Interstate 10. Helicopters and EMS were on the scene. Nineteen high school students and one adult chaperone would ultimately be transferred to Sacred Heart.

Hospitals prepare for this type of disaster. Adrenalin starts pumping. Training takes over, and our team springs into action. No amount of training could prepare us for the heartwarming response of our community.

Television’s children host Mr. Rogers said his mother responded to scary news by telling him, “Look for the helpers.” We were touched by the outpouring of support from community organizations looking to help these Houston students however they could.

  • The manager of our local JCPenney for running through the store gathering clothes for the children, since many had no luggage and were covered in shards of glass.
  • Washington High School, West Florida High School, Pace High School and Escambia High School bands for delivering food, desserts, snacks and — most importantly — encouraging words for their new Houston friends.
  • Coastal Church for their donation of thousands of dollars in gift cards.
  • Jubilee Church for donating $400 worth of gas cards for families who came to drive students home.
  • Olive Baptist Church for donating clothes from their clothes closet.
  • Two of our patient transport staff who gave us an envelope with $100 to help the families.
  • The father of one of our nurses for donating 22 gift cards to McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A and Publix.
  • Pen Air for $1,000 in gift cards.
  • Publix for their donation of food and gift cards.
  • Subway for sending sandwiches and snacks for everyone.
  • Ronald McDonald House for making room to house families from Houston.
  • United Airlines for donating free airline tickets for children to get back to Houston.
  • Chief Deputy Chip Simmons from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department for helping us get the children through airport TSA, though several had lost their identification in the wreck.
  • The TSA supervisor and his staff for making the children’s airport experience seamless.
  • Baptist Hospital for taking the cell phones gathered at the scene by the police, charging them and bringing them over to Sacred Heart.
  • The Red Cross for their immediate offer of help.
  • The Houston school superintendent for coordinating communication with parents about the location of their children and helping obtain airline tickets to bring them home.
  • Baldwin County and Escambia County EMS for being the communication hub for families.
  • The many people who called offering their homes to the Houston families or just wanting to help.

Watching our hospital team’s quick and comprehensive response was inspiring. Many night-shift staff stayed late, and 20 off-duty physicians came in to help as needed. Our Children’s Hospital staff — from the Pediatric Emergency Room, transport crew, child life, nursing, radiology and laboratory to pharmacy, respiratory, anesthesia, operating room — are all specially trained in meeting the medical needs of children, from ensuring the right dosages to teaching teenagers about the procedure they are about to undergo.

The medical care is only part of the equation.

One of our nurse managers drove to South Baldwin Medical Center in Foley to pick up two family members, who were themselves injured in the crash, so they could reunite with their daughter hospitalized at Sacred Heart. Our IT staff hurriedly set up a room of laptops so that students could communicate with their loved ones. Our dietary and housekeeping teams kept the students as comfortable as possible while they waited to reunite with their parents. Our chaplains and child life specialist were ready to give emotional support. Local volunteer pet therapy dogs came to provide warm snuggles. Our in-house facility dog, Sprout, was in her element.

These Houston children were in shock and nine hours away from home. But the home they found, thanks to our community’s loving embrace, is one we should be intensely proud of.

NorthEscambia.com photo.

Comments

9 Responses to “Reflections on I-10 Bus Crash: Thankful For Our Community”

  1. d on March 16th, 2018 4:33 pm

    As a motor coach operator, I learned to appreciate our first res-ponders, So many times I had to pull over and wait for LE or Rescue squads to arrive to deal with unruly passengers or medical emergencies, They were always respectful and i for one was glad to see them, Most of you may not realize the numerous distractions that impair a drivers ability to function safely. I dont know what happened in this accident, Sleep deprivation/fatigue or commotion on the bus are only a few of every drivers nightmares. We do not know how long he had been on duty in Orlando but we do know that he was approaching his DOT 10 hour limit. Driving those cracker boxes is a very demanding job.Thanks First Res-ponders!

  2. Monica on March 16th, 2018 3:26 am

    As I read this, I am brought to tears! I am truly proud to be part of such a caring community and heartfelt prayers go out to those students and their families and all that were affected. Prayers of thanks for all these Angels in our midst.

  3. Sam on March 15th, 2018 7:07 pm

    I’m so proud to be part of a community that clearly has so many angels among us. What a touching article. PRAYERS FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED.

  4. louise on March 15th, 2018 4:09 pm

    I second the accolades being offered to all involved. It is truly heart warming and refreshing to know there are still good people willing to do what they can to help those in peril. It makes me proud to be a resident of Escambia County and a part of the human race. WHy is it so difficult for the MSM to publishing uplifting, positive stories like this instead of always focusing on either fake news or the negative side of everything. There is truly so much good going on in the world but you would never know it by listening to the MSM.

    God bless everyone involved in this and prayers to the families of the driver and passengers.

  5. BONNIE on March 15th, 2018 1:45 pm

    so very proud of everyone involved in making these children a little less scared of a horrible situation…i’m so proud of our community for coming together and helping out…and to ALL our Firefighters, Police, Hospital Staff and everyone involved…i wanna say THANK YOU and im proud to live in a community that cares about others!!!
    JOB WELL DONE!!!!!!

  6. jtt on March 15th, 2018 10:54 am

    This wonderful article ought to be big international news, but saving lives and helping others isn’t important enough to report for big networks. We need more uplifting news and stories of hope about good people being kind to others when tragedy strikes like this.

  7. Beulah Boy on March 15th, 2018 8:32 am

    In times of need like this what more can be said about all the help and generosity the volunteers, law enforcement, EMS, restaurants, stores, churches and organizations did to provide help, comfort and support to the injured and displaced kids and chaperones as demonstrated in the past few days. Everyone came together to assist in any way possible to show them someone was here for them in every aspect until they could return home and be re united with their families.

    It was a community effort with Baldwin County, Mobile and Pensacola stepping up to the plate and showing what we are made of and what we can do in a very short period of time when called upon.

    My congratulations and hats off to everyone involved in the effort.

    GOOD JOB GUYS….WE ARE PROUD OF YOU.

  8. robert on March 15th, 2018 8:29 am

    this is the news we need to see more often the good in 90% of humans people helping people

  9. Bell on March 15th, 2018 8:19 am

    So proud of our community and our neighboring community for the outpouring of love and support for the children and their family. I’m so proud to work and live in Escambia County Florida. Prayers for everyone involved.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News