Editing 1918 Influenza Epidemic (section)

== Response and Aftermath ==

Philadelphia's government struggled to respond to a crisis beyond its experience or preparation. Dr. Krusen, who had minimized the threat, now worked desperately to contain it. Emergency hospitals were established in churches, schools, and other buildings. The city recruited nurses from wherever they could be found—recent graduates, retired nurses, anyone with training. Volunteer organizations mobilized to care for the sick and orphaned. Some immigrant mutual aid societies provided care for their communities when official resources failed. The response, though inadequate, demonstrated Philadelphia's capacity for collective action in crisis.<ref name="kolata"/>

The epidemic subsided almost as quickly as it had arrived. By late October, new cases were declining, and by mid-November, the crisis had passed. The armistice ending World War I on November 11 brought celebration that overshadowed the epidemic's memory. The dead were mourned privately, but there was no official commemoration of the disaster. Public attention turned to returning soldiers and postwar reconstruction. The epidemic that had killed more Philadelphians than any single event in the city's history faded from public memory—a pattern repeated across America, where the 1918 influenza became "the forgotten pandemic."<ref name="crosby"/>