Out of the Blue

As a nursing supervisor at H.C. Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, there were often times that I stumbled across a situation where management had written a policy, but because they were never shared and so infrequently used, I had no idea that they even existed. These would turn out to be fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants moments. They were times when I had to evaluate and make an on-the-spot-decision. Most times they worked out well, but on occasion, senior management weren't thrilled with my choices. One such incident I can recall was during an evening shift. I had two medical helicopters arriving at the same time to collect transfers for victims from an automobile accident. They were vying for the hospital's only one helicopter pad, I was in a quandary. I'd never faced this problem before, so I decided to use an empty parking lot that was adjacent to the landing pad.

I reasoned, “The police are here, the fire department is here, and our security had the landing pad and the parking lot cordoned off, why not land them side by side.” To me it only made sense. The helicopters came and went. They carried off their patients to hospitals in Pittsburgh. I was pleased that everything went smoothly. There were absolutely no problems. The emergency vehicles departed without incident, however, Frick management weren't too thrilled about my decision. I was questioned the next day. They opened the hospital manual to the section describing “what to do should there be two helicopters arriving at the same time.” There was to be a second landing site to be established in a nearby park. Even though I'd never seen that policy or knew that it existed. (I guess it was my responsibility to read and memorize the hundreds of regulations and policies written on the thousands of pages of the several thick black, three-ring binders.)

Fortunately, there were no repercussions for me, but they made it abundantly clear that I needed to consult and follow the policies should another similar situation occur.