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Coping with Tragedy
Aired February 03, 2003 - 13:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: There is a lot of questions, a lot of feelings in light of what happened on Saturday. We have invited Patti Bell to join us now. Her official title, employee assistance program administrator, but she and I had a chance to talk, and basically, you're a mental health professional that is here to help a family that's in a lot of pain right now?
PATTI BELL, EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE MGR.: That's correct.
KAGAN: And you have a plan, or your program had a plan that was ready to go as early as Saturday, when the first news broke.
BELL: Right. We formed after the 9/11 incident in New York, a disaster response team composed of psychologists, social workers and mental health counselors from the community, and we've been training for the last year between critical incidents, stress debriefing and other training pertinent to if there was a crisis here.
KAGAN: So on Saturday, your first call to duty was to be there for the astronauts' family if they need any help?
BELL: That's correct, we were on standby in case they needed us.
KAGAN: Are you able to -- I don't know if you're comfortable talking about what you were able to actually do on Saturday, or what type of people you were able to actually talk to?
BELL: We were just there if we were needed. The family was going back to Johnson. So, you know, we were basically just there on standby.
KAGAN: All right, the next layer of family, all of the people who work on this center, I imagine talking about thousands of people who work out here, whether they're contract employees or actually work for the center, that is who you are here to help now. What kind of needs are you finding?
BELL: Well, we're here to express to people that a lot of the things they might be experiencing are normal reactions to a crisis, and you know, there might be a lot of physiological symptoms that they're experiencing, along with the emotional reactions.
You're right, we are a tight-knit community between all of the NASA centers, and especially here at Kennedy, and we're all interrelated in some way to what goes on with the launches.
KAGAN: We're not just talking about a death in the family; it's seven deaths in the family, and a big part of that is the mourning and the grieving. Tomorrow's there's going to be the memorial service in Houston. Friday, we're getting word there's going to be another one here.
How important is it for these employees to gather as a family and go through that process?
BELL: It's very important for even small groups to gather together and express what they're feeling. Along with that, the support that you experience in a group is quite important to keep the process going.
KAGAN: Patti Bell, thank you for the work that you do, and thank for taking some time to speak with us.
BELL: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 3, 2003 - 13:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: There is a lot of questions, a lot of feelings in light of what happened on Saturday. We have invited Patti Bell to join us now. Her official title, employee assistance program administrator, but she and I had a chance to talk, and basically, you're a mental health professional that is here to help a family that's in a lot of pain right now?
PATTI BELL, EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE MGR.: That's correct.
KAGAN: And you have a plan, or your program had a plan that was ready to go as early as Saturday, when the first news broke.
BELL: Right. We formed after the 9/11 incident in New York, a disaster response team composed of psychologists, social workers and mental health counselors from the community, and we've been training for the last year between critical incidents, stress debriefing and other training pertinent to if there was a crisis here.
KAGAN: So on Saturday, your first call to duty was to be there for the astronauts' family if they need any help?
BELL: That's correct, we were on standby in case they needed us.
KAGAN: Are you able to -- I don't know if you're comfortable talking about what you were able to actually do on Saturday, or what type of people you were able to actually talk to?
BELL: We were just there if we were needed. The family was going back to Johnson. So, you know, we were basically just there on standby.
KAGAN: All right, the next layer of family, all of the people who work on this center, I imagine talking about thousands of people who work out here, whether they're contract employees or actually work for the center, that is who you are here to help now. What kind of needs are you finding?
BELL: Well, we're here to express to people that a lot of the things they might be experiencing are normal reactions to a crisis, and you know, there might be a lot of physiological symptoms that they're experiencing, along with the emotional reactions.
You're right, we are a tight-knit community between all of the NASA centers, and especially here at Kennedy, and we're all interrelated in some way to what goes on with the launches.
KAGAN: We're not just talking about a death in the family; it's seven deaths in the family, and a big part of that is the mourning and the grieving. Tomorrow's there's going to be the memorial service in Houston. Friday, we're getting word there's going to be another one here.
How important is it for these employees to gather as a family and go through that process?
BELL: It's very important for even small groups to gather together and express what they're feeling. Along with that, the support that you experience in a group is quite important to keep the process going.
KAGAN: Patti Bell, thank you for the work that you do, and thank for taking some time to speak with us.
BELL: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
