NYU Langone opens for first time post Sandy

NEW YORK (WABC) -- This week, NYU Langone reopened for the first time since Superstorm Sandy, although its emergency unit is still not up and running.

"It's a wonderful kind of welcome home to a place we haven't been for awhile," said Ingrid Olsen, NYU Langone Medical Center.

It was inside Pediatrics on the 9th Floor at NYU Langone Medical Center, where Thursday, Elmo dropped in to say hello to some very special patients in the playroom and inside Tony and Emily's room.

"I thought it was fabulous because they are confined to their room and it gave them an opportunity to be one on one with Elmo and not feel left out," said Tracy Humphrey, a parent.

Had these children been there the Monday night Sandy rolled through our area, they too would have been forced to evacuate.

Eyewitness News was there as teams of doctors, nurses and firefighters carried out dozens of patients on stretchers, including 50 kids.

"It was focused, it was cohesive, it was team work," said Dr. Bret Rudy, Dept. of Pediatrics.

It was a night many will never forget.

"We prioritized to get the intensive care units evacuated first, we did it in an orderly sequence, as soon as a patient was ready to go, we took them down," Dr. Rudy said.

The storm damaged many of the vital operating systems in the hospital but just this week; officials gave the green light for business here on the 9th floor to return back to normal.

Thanks to the folks at MSG's, Garden of Dreams Foundation, it was a day these little ones will never forget.

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new york city, hospital, superstorm sandy, new york news, kemberly richardson

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