Memorial monument, "Inspired to Care," honoring four paramedics and EMTs who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001: Keith Fairben, Mario Santoro, Kevin Pfiefer and James Pappageorge.
On the anniversary of Sept. 11, the Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital offered a number of memorial services for staff, students and visitors to remember all those who lost their lives in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
"All Americans were deeply affected by the horror and the loss of that day, and none of us will ever forget these events," said Dr. Antonio Gotto, dean of the Medical College. "We should acknowledge this day solemnly but look toward our future with courage and pride and optimism." A video commemorating the efforts of Medical Center staff in response to the events of Sept. 11 was distributed to all Hospital and Weill Cornell employees, compliments of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Production and distribution of the videotape was made possible through the generosity of a donor.
At a special ceremony held in the morning, a memorial monument was unveiled honoring the Medical Center's four paramedics and EMTs—Keith Fairben, Mario Santoro, James Pappageorge and Kevin Pfiefer—who lost their lives while trying to save others at the World Trade Center.
Paramedic Fairben and EMT Santoro, both members of NewYork Weill Cornell's Emergency Medical Services, were among the first emergency personnel to respond to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Firefighters Kevin Pfiefer and James Pappageorge, former paramedics at the Hospital, lost their lives while under FDNY command at the disaster site.
Titled "Inspired to Care," the 22-foot-high, stainless-steel abstract monument, which was designed especially for this memorial by noted artist Ed Schlossberg, stands on the ambulance ramp to the Emergency Department at the end of 70th Street, overlooking the East River. The design motif evokes four stripes of the American Flag, each dedicated to one of the men, as well as the World Trade Towers.
The inscription reads:
AS MEMBERS
OF OUR
COMMUNITY,
YOUR LIVES
ENRICHED US.
THROUGH
YOUR SELFLESS
ACTIONS ON SEPT. 11, 2001,
YOU INSPIRED US.
IN YOUR MEMORY,
WE RENEW OUR
COMMITMENT
TO THE CARE OF
OUR PATIENTS,
OUR CITY,
OUR NATION.
Photo by Felicia Narvaez.