“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (NRV)
In
1998 I took a job as the night supervisor at a rural Louisiana hospital.
Though our proximity to the interstate system provided us with the
occasional medical challenge we were close enough to larger urban medical
facilities that all but the must unstable trauma cases would usually divert to
one of the metropolitan hospitals. It was a wonderful work environment
with a dedicated staff of locally trained nurses and physicians who embraced
their role as healthcare providers to the surrounding communities.
As night supervisor I wore many hats. Extra hands when needed, staffing
assignment for the day shift, transportation and transfer arrangements for
incoming and outgoing patients, and procurement of any needed supplies during
the dark hours when central supply was deserted.
It
was one such dark Saturday night, while struggling with the next day's
staffing, that my beeper sounded with an urgent call from the ER. Glad
for a diversion from the glow of the computer screen I jogged down the 2
flights of stairs and through the side door of our small emergency room to find
the staff nurses hastily organizing trauma supplies in two of the rooms. The
charge nurse informed me she had just received a call from the local ambulance
dispatch who had two units at the scene of a houseboat fire just outside of
town. Preliminary reports from the scene indicated there were two victims
with significant burns, which mandated treatment at the closest facility.
It would be our job to stabilize the victims until they could be safely
transported to the appropriate specialty facility.
One
of the greatest dangers for burn victims is the risk of infection often
inoculated during initial treatment. Larger hospitals carry disposable packets
of bedding, gowns, and equipment covers to minimize bacterial exposure during
treatment of burn victims. My job would be to locate these items in the minutes
before the victims arrived in our ER. I unlocked the door to the massive room
filled with narrow aisles of tall shelves, knowing there was not time for the
laborious process of searching the catalogue and cross referencing stock
numbers to narrow the search. I hurried to the area I thought most likely to
contain the items I sought, uncertain as to what they looked like or where they
might be stored, eyes flitting from item to item and shelf to shelf frantically
searching for something I could not envision. I remember muttering anxiously
"Oh Jesus, Oh Jesus, Oh Jesus......" as I scanned aisle after aisle
hopelessly, dread rising in my chest as I thought of the diminished chances for
survival of the victims if we could not provide an aseptic environment for
treatment. As I came to the end of an aisle I slowed and my eyes were drawn
upward to the top shelf and though I could not see what was there I knew what I
would find. I climbed up and grabbed three medium-sized parcels and sprinted to
the ED and distributed them to a relieved staff. We used the contents of the
parcels to dress three treatment areas, finishing moments before the ambulances
arrived carrying three burn victims.
It was hours later that a tired staff transferred the last patient to a metropolitan burn unit, and I returned to the dreaded staffing computer and completed the forms and charges attendant with trauma treatment. My last call before signing out was to central supply to let them know what I had taken from the shelves so they could allocate the appropriate charges and restock. It was just after 7 am that a sleepy voice answered the phone. "This is the nursing supervisor, I got three packs of CBT sterile coverings from the supply room last night, please reorder and get with the ED about charges." "Can't do it" said the voice, "We don't stock them, never have."
Lord lead me to call on you at all times that my answers be bound not by earthly constraints.
