Doctors wait -- and wait -- for survivors

Most of the injured being admitted to hospitals in New York now are rescue workers, doctors say.

(CNN) -- Scores of doctors around New York and Washington spent most of Thursday waiting but rarely treating survivors of Tuesday's terrorist attacks.

"Right now things have quieted down and we're obviously quite dismayed at the lack of patients that we've had," said Dr. Jesse Blumenthal, of St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, the trauma center closest to the World Trade Center.

By Thursday evening, only 11 patients had been brought to St. Vincent's, mostly emergency workers, from Wednesday night into Thursday, said Dr. Anthony Gagliardi, the hospital's medical director.

Doctors at Bellevue Hospital also said their primary patients are those involved in the rescue -- firefighters, police and others with broken bones, sprains and bruises sustained while digging through the rubble of the twin skyscrapers.

Waiting in Washington

The frustration is shared by doctors in the Washington area, where a hijacked plane struck the Pentagon.

"I think the chance of survivors is low, but I certainly don't want to give up hope," said Dr. York Allen, director of the emergency room at Virginia Hospital Center. "I always try to be optimistic, but at the same time we have to be realistic."

Allen's hospital is four miles from the Pentagon, and has treated the majority of the 85 survivors of that attack.

Many doctors are also trying to come to grips with the immense terror the assaults caused.

"The attack on the Pentagon strikes me at a very deep level," said Dr. James Jeng, a burn surgeon at Washington Hospital Center, who is also a Navy reservist.

The repercussions from New York are just as hard to ignore, Jeng said. "I can't even begin to comprehend the fact that the World Trade Center is gone," he said. "We used to live in Manhattan."

Tending to grief

Helping people deal with their sorrow and fear is becoming a chief concern of emergency response groups, American Red Cross President Dr. Bernadine Healy said.

"The No. 1 need now across the country is going to be grief counseling," she told CNN's Larry King Wednesday night.

"This is, of course, about these victims who were hideously harmed and damaged," she said. "But it's about every American who is mourning today. It is about every American who has been terrified by what they have seen."

Red Cross chapters across the United States will be providing grief counseling, because people are particularly susceptible to depression in the wake of disasters, Healy said.

As the rescue efforts continue, doctors and others involved in the emergency response cling to whatever they can to get them through their grim tasks.

"I've got a bunch of people whose lives are on the line," burn surgeon Jeng said. "And at the moment this regional burn center is their best shot at getting through this alive."