Kristina Jones, an attending psychiatrist at St. Vincent's Hospital near the World Trade Center, worked a 13-hour shift on September 11, 2001. She wrote about her experiences in a private journal that she has now shared publicly, 25 years later. According to Jones' account, chaos erupted at the hospital as staff members rushed to prepare for an influx of patients, with some people already experiencing psychological trauma from the disaster. As Jones reported, one patient was described as screaming and crying in the hallway, claiming her skin was burning and the building was falling.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On October 8, 2024, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was killed, an event that has become a significant marker for young conservatives in America, akin to September 11, 2001 and the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. The day of his death is now referred to by some as 9/10, symbolizing its impact on political activism among students. Meanwhile, the small Canadian town of Gander played a pivotal role during the September 11 attacks when U.S. airspace was closed, leading to 38 international flights landing there, doubling the population overnight and necessitating an impromptu humanitarian effort by locals to aid around 7,000 stranded passengers and crew members for several days. This act of kindness inspired the Broadway musical "Come From Away," which highlights Gander's generosity and humanity in times of crisis.
Written for “9/11 Anniversary Reflections” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 167 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 7871 · logged 2026-09-11
On September 11, 2001, Kristina Jones was three months into her job as an attending psychiatrist at St. Vincent’s, the closest hospital to the World Trade Center.
asserted
Jones → attend → Center
She worked 13 hours that harrowing day.
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She → work → ?
The next day she wrote for seven hours, trying to record what she had seen before it evaporated from her mind.
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it → write → mind
Then she put away her recollections, confiding in only a few close friends about them, because her experiences felt small compared with people who had lost lives, family members, or friends.
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who → put → lives
Twenty-five years later, Dr. Jones decided that she wanted to share what she wrote about St. Vincent’s.
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she → decide → Vincent
Her words are a time capsule of September 11, and a remembrance of those whose lives were lost.
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lives → lose → those
—The Editors
Everything in Manhattan below 14th Street is closed to civilians.
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Everything → close → civilians
Only military planes and helicopters fly overhead.
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planes → fly → ?
My 13-hour shift yesterday at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village keeps replaying in my mind, and I need you to know what happened.
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what → keep → mind
When I had almost arrived to work, everyone I saw was staring at the World Trade Center.
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I → arrive → Center
“A plane just hit one of the Twin Towers,” someone said, and smoke darker than black ink streamed from the building.
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smoke → hit → building
That’s when I began to shake.
asserted
I → ’ → ?
I realized that my dear friend Brian might be in there.
uncertain
friend → realize → ?
I ran back to my apartment—cell phones didn’t work—and emailed him: “EMERGENCY are you OK?”
asserted
you → run → him
Then I went to the hospital, grabbed and put on a white coat, and reported for duty.
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I → go → duty
When I signed in, every nurse, doctor, and emergency medical services worker was there, many of them from hospitals far away.
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nurse → sign → hospitals
We didn’t know whether 200 or 2,000 people would be coming in the next hour.
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people → know → ?
The psychiatry plan was that anyone screaming or freaking out from the stress should be pulled out of the emergency department.
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anyone → scream → department
Three psychiatrists rushed toward a woman who was screaming, then crying, then screaming in the hallway.
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who → rush → hallway
“My skin is burning!
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skin → burn → ?
I have to get out of the building!
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I → have → building
The building is falling!” she kept saying.
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she → fall → ?
There was no time to register people as they arrived.
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they → be → people
But the giddiness of being freed of administrative duties turned to fright as I pictured waves of people arriving at St. Vincent’s, and we discussed how many beds we could make available on different floors of the hospital.
uncertain
we → free → hospital
When I walked outside toward my office in another building, there was only a cloud of smoke where one of the Twin Towers used to be.
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one → walk → Towers
I kept looking for the building, and it kept not being there.
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it → keep → building
