Four Years After San Bernardino Terrorist Attack, 13 of 57 Survivors Still Work for County – San Bernardino Sun 12/1/19, 3:18 PM
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Four years after San Bernardino terrorist attack, 13 of 57 survivors still work for county – San Bernardino Sun 12/1/19, 3:18 PM NEWS Four years after San Bernardino terrorist attack, 13 of 57 survivors still work for county Members of the public walk up the stairs to the Environmental Health Services offices for San Bernardino County on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019. (Photo by Sandra Emerson, The Sun/SCNG) https://www.sbsun.com/2019/12/01/four-years-after-san-bernardino-terrorist-attack-13-of-57-survivors-still-work-for-county/ Page 1 of 6 Four years after San Bernardino terrorist attack, 13 of 57 survivors still work for county – San Bernardino Sun 12/1/19, 3:18 PM By SANDRA EMERSON | [email protected] | PUBLISHED: December 1, 2019 at 7:00 am | UPDATED: December 1, 2019 at 7:01 am Four years a!er terrorists opened "re on county employees at a holiday party in San Bernardino, the department in which many of the victims worked looks different. Not just physically. The faces of employees have also changed. Of the 57 employees from the Department of Public Health and its Environmental Health Services division who survived the attack, 43 returned to work since Dec. 2, 2015, the day county health inspector Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, shot and killed 14 people, including 13 county employees, and wounded 22 others at Inland Regional Center. The number killed and wounded made up about 35% of the department’s workforce. Today, 13 survivors still work full time for the county, while eight are on medical leave, county spokesman David Wert said in an email. All but one of the survivors still working for the county are with the Department of Public Health, including the Environmental Health Services division in which Farook worked. The county can’t say why the eight employees are on medical leave, but their leaves started the day of the attack, Wert said. Efforts to reach survivors who worked in the department were unsuccessful. https://www.sbsun.com/2019/12/01/four-years-after-san-bernardino-terrorist-attack-13-of-57-survivors-still-work-for-county/ Page 2 of 6 Four years after San Bernardino terrorist attack, 13 of 57 survivors still work for county – San Bernardino Sun 12/1/19, 3:18 PM Some of the 36 survivors who le! the county did so because of the attack, while others le! for unrelated reasons, Wert said. Some employees “may have had the attack on their mind when they decided to separate and didn’t disclose it,” Wert said. Six survivors le! the county within the "rst two years a!er the attack, while 30 have le! in the past two years, Wert said. “It’s very dif"cult to recover from something like this,” said Geraldine Ly, a Santa Ana-based worker’s comp attorney who has represented about a dozen survivors. “They are civilians. They are not trained to have to undergo this kind of trauma or be exposed to it.” Ly said some of her clients tried going back to work, but found it too traumatizing. “It is an open wound and there’s no way that they can heal,” Ly said. “That’s why a lot of them have just decided to move on.” Inspections dropped a!er the attack, but staf"ng and productivity has almost completely recovered to pre- December 2015 levels, Wert said. In addition to addressing gaps in staf"ng, the county gutted and remodeled the environmental health services of"ce on the county government center’s second #oor and in Rancho Cucamonga to avoid triggering painful memories for employees returning to work. Meanwhile, employees worked in temporary of"ces. The government center of"ce’s #oor plan was recon"gured to exclude Farook’s desk, which is now a storage area, according to a report commissioned by the county. https://www.sbsun.com/2019/12/01/four-years-after-san-bernardino-terrorist-attack-13-of-57-survivors-still-work-for-county/ Page 3 of 6 Four years after San Bernardino terrorist attack, 13 of 57 survivors still work for county – San Bernardino Sun 12/1/19, 3:18 PM While the attack didn’t occur on county property, the county beefed up security at its various facilities in response to employees’ concerns. The county also provided crisis counseling to traumatized employees and dedicated a “quiet room” in the Department of Public Health building for those experiencing trigger events. Counseling is still available, though it has not been used in the past 14 months, Wert said. Current employees can get therapy through their medical coverage or the county’s Department of Behavorial Health hotline, he said. Former employees can access therapy through workers’ comp, Wert said. Ly said some of her clients have moved out of the area, while others have taken positions with other counties. Still, she said, this time of year remains dif"cult. Most of her clients will shut down social media and avoid the news so they aren’t reminded of the anniversary, Ly said. “Most of my clients do not go to any of the memorials,” Ly said. “They do not go to any of the remembrances. They don’t because they need to heal. So for every year in the last three years and coming to the fourth year, they will not be there.” Want local news? Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Enter your email to subscribe SUBSCRIBE https://www.sbsun.com/2019/12/01/four-years-after-san-bernardino-terrorist-attack-13-of-57-survivors-still-work-for-county/ Page 4 of 6 Those first on scene of San Bernardino terror attack reflect on where things are 4 years later – Press Enterprise NEWS Those first on scene of San Bernardino terror attack reflect on where things are 4 years later https://www.pe.com/...rs-later/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise[12/2/2019 8:35:18 AM] Those first on scene of San Bernardino terror attack reflect on where things are 4 years later – Press Enterprise R Dr. Michael Neeki, left, and Dr. Benjamin Archambeau want the next generation of doctors to be prepared for trauma on the magnitude of the 2015 San Bernardino attack. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) By RICHARD K. DE ATLEY | [email protected] and BRIAN ROKOS | [email protected] | The Press- Enterprise PUBLISHED: December 2, 2019 at 8:30 am | UPDATED: December 2, 2019 at 8:31 am Trauma impacts everyone. A tragedy like the San Bernardino mass shooting on Dec. 2, 2015 — four years ago today — sends ripples through communities, while bringing those who live and work there together. Events like dedications of memorial gardens and community vigils honor those who lost their lives that day, and for those who were first to the scene, every day becomes a day to advocate for change. “Trauma is the same. Emotionally you will have the similar increase of heart rate and sober sadness https://www.pe.com/...rs-later/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise[12/2/2019 8:35:18 AM] Those first on scene of San Bernardino terror attack reflect on where things are 4 years later – Press Enterprise when you see people in agony. In that particular time, I felt the community in agony,” said Michael M. Neeki, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center trauma surgeon. Neeki, 55, has remained in contact with families of the victims and has attended dedications of several memorial gardens. TOP ARTICLES 1/5 .st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}.st1{fill:#0099FF;} SKIP AD Victims of mass shootings find comfort and support The emotions brought forth by the deadly attack on Dec. 2, 2015, were different than those he usually endures as a result of his life-or-death operations, he said. That feeling has inspired Neeki, who treated victims at the Inland Regional Center as medical director of the Inland Valley Swat Team, to push for ways to get quicker triage and treatment in similar situations. https://www.pe.com/...rs-later/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise[12/2/2019 8:35:18 AM] Those first on scene of San Bernardino terror attack reflect on where things are 4 years later – Press Enterprise He remains concerned that victims who could be saved with immediate advanced care, instead bleed to death. Neeki said his efforts to create what he calls a special medical response team are making progress, but with so many Dr. Michael Neeki, left, and Dr. Benjamin Archambeau, doctors at agencies involved, that progress is slow. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, treated many 2015 San Bernardino shooting victims. They are advocates for having paramedic teams quickly assess the needs of trauma patients in The team he envisions would include a trauma the field and treat them with more advanced procedures. (Photo physician, emergency room physician, trauma by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) nurse and perhaps a respiratory nurse. They would travel in a vehicle specially equipped with tools for amputations, respiration and other care typically only found in hospitals and work alongside police and firefighters. “What we are proposing is not intervening in their daily routine,” Neeki said. “What we are proposing is when you see a condition where there’s an indication of amputation, advanced airway, advanced intervention of blood product administration, that’s not the skills paramedics would currently have. So my hope and my prayer is that someday we all come together that our priority is our patient.” Benjamin Archambeau, 32, is an Arrowhead physician who works alongside Neeki on the SWAT team.