Testing One's Mettle
After a deadly tornado struck Tuscaloosa, Ala., in April, faculty and students from Capstone College of Nursing at UA came to residents’ aid by pulling them from the rubble and triaging hospital patients from the surrounding area. The new building that houses the nursing school was undamaged. Photo: The Tuscaloosa News
As a leader in nursing education, Sara Barger 73MN has weathered her share of professional storms. But like other residents in Tuscaloosa, Ala., she is still coming to terms with the April tornadoes that leveled part of the town and killed more than 200 people statewide.
Emory Medalist Sara Barger 73MN serves as dean of the Capstone College of Nursing. |
None of the faculty, students, and staff at the University of Alabama (UA) Capstone College of Nursing, where Barger serves as dean, were injured. And while some faculty and students lost their homes, many stepped up to help.
Right after the twister struck, a Capstone faculty member and several nursing students arrived at the emergency room at the DCH Regional Medical Center to triage patients from Tuscaloosa and the surrounding area. “No one called them,” says Barger. “They just came. Other faculty pulled people out of buildings that collapsed on top of them. Everyone responded immediately.”
Some 55 miles from Tuscaloosa, nurses who run the Capstone Rural Health Center rushed to nearby Cordova to assist that damaged community. Days after the storm, teams of students worked in shelters and went door to door in Tuscaloosa to check on residents and give tetanus shots. Nursing faculty and students also joined with others at UA to provide counseling and mental health services for university members and Tuscaloosa residents.
“The response was as diverse as you can imagine,” says Barger. “Tuscaloosa is a small town, and the faculty, staff, and students here are involved in a lot of ways.”
Barger is thankful that the Capstone College of Nursing building was not damaged by the tornado. The new three-story structure opened last August and more than doubled the physical size of the college.
The building was a dream of Barger’s when she visited Emory in fall 2001 to receive an Emory Medal, the university’s highest alumni honor, for her contributions to public health nursing. She also toured Emory’s nursing school building, which opened in 2000, to get ideas for a new home for Capstone.
Planning and opening a new building and coping with a natural disaster are more than enough to test anyone’s mettle. The school and the community have emerged stronger on the other side. “It’s been quite a journey,” says Barger.—Pam Auchmutey
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Web Connection: To read more about Emory Medalist Sara Barger, visit bit.ly/alumnabarger. |
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