The Great Rainfall of September 2023, Seen Through the Eyes of VNS Health Team Members

Over eight inches of rain recorded in a single day in New York City … flash floods across the metropolitan area… half of the city’s subway lines closed down… streets turned to ponds… snarled traffic… delayed plane flights—no question, that was one massive and historic rainfall that hit the New York area on Friday, September 29!

VNS Health frontline team members are famous for overcoming obstacles and delivering care in every type of weather, no matter how bad. As you’ll see in the stories that follow, they rose to the occasion yet again in the Great Rainfall of September 2023 with its thunderous rain that just wouldn’t quit.

Here’s their report:

Soaked shoes, happy client

“I had to battle through the storm and floods, shoes all soaked, so my client could be taken care of,” recalls home health aide Carlos Cruz. He adds that the reception he got was worth the soaking: “The best part is when the client is happy to see you and says, ‘thank you for coming.’”

“We are that helping hand in times of difficult circumstances”

“I was very worried because I had to take two buses to assist my patient and the rain continued,” writes home health aide Michelle Garcia Garcia. “There were closed streets and it was dark, the strong wind hit my umbrella intensely and did not allow me to move forward, but I knew that I could not stop because my patient was waiting for me to help him with his essential needs. We are that helping hand in times of difficult circumstances, as it was that Friday.” Along with her note, Michelle sent this photo of herself with Friday’s most essential piece of equipment: An umbrella!

Citi Bike to the rescue

Hospice nurse Hannah Schwartz was in the midst of the morning huddle with her team when she got a text from her high school-age daughter, whose trip to school had been derailed by a subway shut-down. After they agreed by text that her daughter would have to walk back to their Brooklyn home—over a mile in a torrential downpour—Hanna returned to her team huddle. “Notify NYC alerts kept going off on my phone saying to avoid low-lying areas,” she recounted. “I saw a message flash on my phone that showed cars being carried away and people being rescued from cars on 4th Avenue, only a mile from my home. I had to figure out how I should dress for going out in the field. I donned my knee-high rain boots, my quick-dry sport pants, and knee length raincoat, and my VNS Health cap, and grabbed an umbrella and my bike helmet. Because the trains were already stalled, I headed to the nearest available Citi Bike.

As she got on her bike, the rain had paused for the moment, notes Hannah. “However, the sky let loose another two inches of rain as I traveled three miles to my first patient. When I arrived, I was soaked. I found a fan at the nurse’s station and pointed it at my jacket to try to dry it out before I headed to my second visit. As I approached the entrance of the NYCHA building where my second patient lives, I had to pass through eight-inch deep standing water. That is how I discovered I have a hole in my left boot that left me sloshing with a wet sock. While in my second visit, I learned that a state of emergency had been called by the mayor, but I was already out, soaked and without a plan for getting home. So I walked on to my third and fourth visits, hoping the trains would be running by the time I finished. However, the trains were still not running, so I got another Citi Bike and took my soggy body home to finish my notes and check on the well-being of my other 16 patients as well as my daughter.”

Needed: A dry pair of socks!

When home health aide Ines Lovera got to her patient, her happiness at putting a new, dry pair of socks inspired the following message and photograph: “No tengo fotos de todo lonque tuve que pasar para llegar a tiempo , lo unico es que tuve que usar las medias del home donde estoy porque las mias estaban mojadas, mis tenis y mis pantalones.” (Translation: “I do not have photos of everything I had to go through to arrive on time; the only thing is that I had to wear the socks of the home where I am because mine were wet, [along with] my sneakers and my pants.”)

“Extremely wet… very uncomfortable”

“When I got to work last Friday I was extremely wet,” reports home health aide Norma Bruce Foster. “The buses weren’t running as they would, so I had to walk several blocks to my patient; nonetheless, I was early as usual. It was very uncomfortable in wet clothes.”

“My car has to go swimming to go to work!”

When home health aide Amber Wood started the drive to her patient’s home on Friday morning, she found herself on a road that looked more like a shallow river. So she immediately took out her phone and recorded a video of the sight. Click here to see it for yourself!

“I don’t know where the bus is going to stop”

That’s what home health aide Jacqueline Martin-Rose said as she surveyed the water-filled Brooklyn street where she was hoping to catch the B3 bus on Friday morning en route to her patient’s home.

Another wet wait for the bus

As she waited for the bus that would take her to her patient, home health aide Karla Fuentes sent in this photo of her drenched pants and shoes, along with the following note: “Estava muy malo el tiempo. Esa foto fue cuando estava esperando el bus alas 8:45 a.m.” (Translation: “The weather was very bad. That photo was when I was waiting for the bus at 8:45 a.m.”)

Wet streets, soggy feet

Last but not least, we received these rainy-day photos from home health aide Alma Gella Edwards.

Job well done, everyone — thank you for sharing your reflections on a rainy day to remember!