Every time the twin doors of the Stony Brook Medicine World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program on Long Island open, the cost of valor is on show, twenty-one years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
In a minimally designed waiting room in Commack, New York, a dozen beige recliners are frequently filled with heroes. The men and women who hurried to Ground Zero were motivated mostly by duty.
The waiting room has become a venue to encounter former coworkers and catch up with old pals. Sometimes the news is positive, and sometimes it is negative. These men and women share a survival bond. Twenty years ago, they labored through the aftermath of the worst attack on American soil.
Beyond the wooden barrier and the plexiglass partition, nurse practitioner Bruno Valenti performs normal testing on patients in exam rooms. They are very familiar to him. The now-retired sergeant of the New York Police Department is subject to the same annual monitoring processes he administers. Similarly, he stood atop the heap 21 years ago.
Bruno Valenti, a nurse practitioner, treats a first responder.
“As a program participant, there are occasions when I leave a patient’s bedside and think to myself, ‘I’m lucky’” Valenti told 60 Minutes Overtime. “No matter how horrible I perceive my day to be, its trajectory may be much worse. So there are times when you pause and reflect.”
Stephen Lengyel, a registered nurse, seems to know everyone at the WTC clinic. He is a provider and a patient as well.
“Seeing an old friend is always a pleasure,” remarked Lengyel. “In addition, as a time of interacting with these people, I can relate to some of their struggles. I was there personally that day… I comprehend the health aspect. And, you know, we just do our best to take care of everyone.”
Registered nurse Stephen Lengyel being questioned by 60 Minutes Overtime.
On September 11, 2001, at approximately 9:00 a.m., Lengyel was in a patrol van on the Triborough Bridge, 12 miles north of the World Trade Center, when he witnessed an explosion from the window. Flight 175 of United Airlines crashed into the South Tower.
According to Lengyel, his team had orders to establish a command post as close to the World Trade Center as feasible.
Lengyel recalled, “We prepared and were marching towards the World Trade Center as the first tower collapsed.” “It was a sudden turn of events. And we were, you know, “You cross the Brooklyn Bridge.” You actually go that route. You go in this direction, you run in that direction,’ because people were approaching us out of the dust.”
Lengyel, a member of the Brooklyn North Task Force, stated that his squad eventually established a protective perimeter around the ruins. He recalls spending two months stationed in southern Manhattan.
Stephen Lengyel (middle) works at the World Trade Center site following the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. He left the NYPD in 2012 after nearly 22 years of service.
Bruno Valenti did not rush to the World Trade Center immediately. On 9/11, as a member of the NYPD Forensic Division, he reported to a Jamaica, Queens office. He reported that his commanding officer put the unit on standby in the event of additional attacks. They were granted clearance to assist with the cleanup at ground zero three days later.
“I remember when we arrived, it was dark when we emerged from the Battery Tunnel, looked to see all the smoke, and then arriving at the collapse scene; it was a bizarre experience,” recalled Valenti. “You looked at it and thought, ‘This is impossible!’”
Valenti stated that he joined the “bucket brigade” at the top of the pile, where evidence was gathered and transferred back for processing and safekeeping.
Valenti stated, “I believe the beauty was watching how many citizens were on the outskirts with bottles of water, trying to help in any way they could.” “And I believe that was a moment that exemplified the amount of good vs evil in the world, and you realize that the world is comprised of nice people that want to help. And, you know, we will eventually triumph over evil.”
Bruno Valenti (center) at ground zero after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In 2011, he retired from the NYPD after twenty years in uniform.
Lengyel and Valenti currently operate under the supervision of Dr. Benjamin Luft, who established the Stony Brook Medicine World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program more than two decades ago as a pro bono service to aid sick and injured 9/11 survivors and first responders.
“I believe it becomes a part of you once you begin caring for a fantastic group of people who are so selfless, courageous, and generous,” Luft told 60 Minutes Overtime. “As a result of that, you actually become a better person.”
In 2011, when 60 Minutes first met Luft, the program had approximately 6,000 patients. Currently, it monitors or treats over 13,000 people. Among the group are police officers and firefighters, carpenters and steelworkers, and a variety of volunteers who were once obliged to aid in the recovery and reconstruction of an ill nation and city.
The World Trade Center Oral History Project was initiated by Dr. Benjamin Luft as a result of his work caring for September 11 survivors and first responders. In 2011, the initiative was covered on 60 Minutes. The complete account is provided here.
In his 21 years of treating 9/11 survivors and first responders, Luft has diagnosed and researched a multitude of illnesses related with the chemicals found in the World Trade Center wreckage. Cancer is one of the most recent to appear. Luft stated that its latency duration can range between 20 and 30 years.
Luft told 60 Minutes Overtime in 2021, “the entire area of cancer is shifting.” “Prior to ten years ago, we presumptively associated virtually all known tumors with the September 11 attacks. At the time, we were aware of the linked poisons… We understood the carcinogens to which they were exposed. Consequently, there was the rational idea that if you are exposed to anything that causes cancer, it is likely to cause cancer in the future, even if you do not now have it. Now, we are beginning to observe its expressions.”
For Stephen Lengyel it emerged much sooner.
One of my coworkers spotted a rash on my arms while I was working in the emergency room in 2006, most likely. Lengyel said. “I have Squamous Basal Cell carcinoma. Several procedures have already been performed on me. Is there a link to 9/11? Might be. Then, immediately following the occurrence, it happened.”
Lengyel stated that every five months he visits a dermatologist to monitor the condition.
The World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program at Stony Brook University maintains offices in Commack and Mineola, New York. More than 130 positions are staffed between the two locations.
The WTC health program at Stony Brook is sponsored by a contract and grants granted by the federal government as a result of the 2011 Zadroga Act.
The World Trade Center Health Program of the federal government comprises various affiliates, including Stony Brook, that collect data and track trends in patient health. The data is sent to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the regulatory body for the program.
NIOSH provides a list of diseases that can be treated under the WTC Health Program. In 2012, cancer was added. In 2016, Acute Traumatic Injuries and new-onset COPD were included. For a new condition to be added to the list, the Program Administrator of the WTC Health Program must approve it or a petition must be submitted. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health stated that both approaches are rooted in data collection and scientific discoveries. The government also emphasized that anyone can request the addition of a condition to the list.
Dr. Benjamin Luft within the laboratory.
Cognitive decline was the subject of a 2016 study by Dr. Luft and his colleagues at Stony Brook, which was not specifically covered by the U.S. WTC Health Program.
Using the MoCA cognitive evaluation, the study discovered that 10 to 15% of the patients evaluated displayed evidence of cognitive deterioration, a rate that was three times greater than expected when compared to similarly aged individuals in the general population. In addition, the findings indicated that the cognitively impaired research participants displayed indicators of impairment around age 55, roughly ten years sooner than the general population.
“This area is called as mild cognitive impairment,” Luft explained. “In this respect, the patients typically do not have any issues affecting their life or capacity to function… At that point, we had not yet observed the onset of dementia in people. However, it is vital to note that patients with this condition have an increased predisposition to develop dementias.”
Cognitive impairment and dementia are not yet included on the list of NIOSH-approved conditions covered by the WTC Health Program. Some individuals will have their treatment covered if it is deemed a progression of an NIOSH-approved illness.
The World Trade Center Health Program is currently evaluating the legitimacy of a petition about neurodegenerative disorders.
Dr. Benjamin Luft of Stony Brook is certain that the data reveals a clear conclusion.
Luft told 60 Minutes Overtime, “Our research strongly suggests that the cognitive dysfunction we observe in our patients is due to 9/11.” “And I believe that it will ultimately be certified by NIOSH, and that these individuals will receive the care they deserve”
The World Trade Center Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), which is administered by the Department of Justice and permits survivors and first responders to receive financial compensation for NIOSH-approved illnesses, was reestablished by the Zadroga Act. The VCF does not pay compensation for non-physical injuries at this time.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health told 60 Minutes Overtime that it has not yet established whether cognitive dysfunction would be classified as a physical or mental condition. Ultimately, the verdict will determine whether 9/11 survivors and first responders with neurodegenerative disorders are eligible to receive compensation from the VCF for their ailments.
The EPA has vowed to continue investigating the effects of 9/11 exposures on cognitive function in those who spent extensive time in the exposure zone.
In 2021, Dr. Howard, director of the World Trade Center Health Program, stated, “Future Program-funded research will address limitations observed in existing studies, such as inconsistent definitions of cognitive impairment, inadequate information characterizing baseline risks, exposure misclassification, and a lack of non-exposed comparison groups.” “Advances in neuroimaging and biomarker research have the potential to improve surveillance and diagnostic cost and capability for these conditions, while advances in molecular science research may uncover mechanistic data that clarify causal pathways and lead to improved care for 9/11-exposed populations.”
The Stony Brook World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program is currently accepting new patients 21 years after Dr. Luft and a group of medical practitioners initiated a grassroots effort to aid the heroes of September 11th. Luft stated that the practice grows by around 8% every year. A sobering reminder that the men and women who risked their lives in the wreckage of ground zero continue to endure hardship.
“Heroism does not come for free,” Luft added. “They left a bit of themselves behind, you know, on 9/11… And this is something with which they must live.”
Visit their website to learn more about the World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program at Stony Brook Medicine.
Aiding 9/11 survivors and emergency personnel
Visitors can visit Answer the Call and The FDNY Foundation to learn more about aiding 9/11 survivors and first responders.
The following video was developed by Keith Zubrow and initially released on 12 September 2021. Sarah Shafer Prediger edited the manuscript. Mabel Kabani was the Associate of Broadcasting.
60 Minutes 9/11 Archive: Remembering 9/11 15:53
Remembering 9/11