Are you going to work tommorow in the big storm?

hecallsmeDuchess · Feb 2, 2011

I wish a safe trip to all who are driving in to work in horrible weather. We didn't get any snow this week in my area so there's no reason for me to panic.

Blackheartednurse · Feb 2, 2011

My boyfriend slept in the hospital today.

Tina, RN · Feb 2, 2011

I went in for my 3-11 shift yesterday evening here in NY. The roads were awful. Plus, I had to drop my children off at my mother's house before work since school was cancelled. Thankfully, mom lives nearby. My job is about 30 minutes from home, and it took me about an hour, going very slowly. But it was definitely dangerous. I saw a car go off the highway and flip over, I called 911. Hopefully the person is OK... It also took about an hour to get home, with freezing rain coming down. And, of course that was after getting out at midnight, and having to scrape all the ice from the car, too. *sigh* I got home around 1:30 this morning.

Today, I am running on fumes. Thank goodness I'm off for a few days. School is cancelled again, the kids are bored, and all I wanna do is go to sleep! LOL

I had to laugh, though. My mother used to work in the kitchen of a hospital, 6a-2:30p. I can remember her sleeping over at the hospital a few times when the weather was bad. So, yesterday when she asked me incredulously if I was actually going to work, I said, "Yup." She should remember what it's like to work for a hospital...

rn/writer, RN · Feb 2, 2011

DH and I have had plenty of experience driving in bad weather and crummy road conditions. That's something you can plan for. Drive slowly. Allow plenty of time. Make sure you have a full tank of gas, warm clothing, food and water. And a fully charged cell phone. It's a bit nerve-wracking, but it can be done.

But yesterday's blizzard crossed the boundary from bad weather into life threatening insanity. Our area issued something called a Civil Danger Warning, a new one on me, which meant that they wanted everyone to stay off the roads. Law enforcement agencies and civil authorities cautioned people that if they got stuck there would probably be no one to rescue them for up to 12 hours. The stranded cars were also going to risk being hit by snow plows because we had wind gusts in the mid 60s (just 10 miles an hour under hurricane force) and visibility dropped to zero at times.

The powers that be did not want folks on the road for their own sakes but also for the well being of the emergency and road workers who had to put themselves on the line to rescue those who didn't heed the warnings.

The Interstate roads were shut down for a time. Main thoroughfares closed as plows were pulled off the roads during the night due to the extreme wind and whiteout conditions. Some of them had gotten stuck and had to be left where they were. Side streets had drifts that completely buried cars. And many driveways and sidewalks showed bare concrete in some spots and 5-10 foot dunes on the opposite side.

Hospital employees scheduled for last night and today would have done well to plan ahead and get themselves on the premises ahead of the curve. But once the extreme conditions hit, staying inside was the only thing that made sense.

The list of closings in my area includes just about everything except actual hospitals. Docs offices, home health, urgent care, even Meals on Wheels are all shut down. EMS is using snowmobiles and having ambulances follow plows. This is even now, several hours after the wind has settled down and the digging out has commenced.

It's easy to say that fighting your way in to work would be the responsible thing to do, but when the weather caster says this storm is the worst one around these parts since 1947, you have to have some sense. Venturing out into a life-threatening blizzard is foolish and dangerous.

DH got called to work at 0500 by a dispatcher who lives in another state. He just laughed and said, "Haven't you heard? We're closed down here."

bagladyrn, RN · Feb 3, 2011

Can anyone really honestly say that they didn't know that this was coming in plenty of time to make plans for obligations and go in well before the weather hit? It's been major news for days ahead of time.

Home Health is obviously a special case as seeing patients would involve actually being on the road during the weather. I'd hope there are contingency plans in place for these patients ahead of time.

As someone who has made it to work in every type of weather event all over the country (including the years when I had kids and pets) I would have little sympathy for coworkers who claimed to be unable to plan for it.

Super_RN, BSN, RN · Feb 3, 2011

Can anyone really honestly say that they didn't know that this was coming in plenty of time to make plans for obligations and go in well before the weather hit? It's been major news for days ahead of time.
Home Health is obviously a special case as seeing patients would involve actually being on the road during the weather. I'd hope there are contingency plans in place for these patients ahead of time.
As someone who has made it to work in every type of weather event all over the country (including the years when I had kids and pets) I would have little sympathy for coworkers who claimed to be unable to plan for it.

Yes, I knew it was coming. However, I wasn't able to go in earlier because I had no one to watch our daughter until my husband was home. At that point, it was so bad that we indeed slid off the road attempting to get to work, with our daughter in our vehicle. I am not willing to put our child at risk to get to work.

General E. Speaking, RN, RN · Feb 3, 2011

Can anyone really honestly say that they didn't know that this was coming in plenty of time to make plans for obligations and go in well before the weather hit?

Although not a major news story to some of you Northerners, we (Southerners) may be getting some sleet/snow here in Houston. I am supposed to work Friday and the forecast calls for freezing temps with precipitation Thurs afternoon thru Friday morning.

I put in a call to my boss to see if the hospital was making any preparations or contingency plans in case the morning shift has trouble coming in Friday to relieve the night shift. My boss didn't even return my phone call. I called my unit and no announcements/emails were sent out. Nobody was even discussing the weather.

I guess I am the only one worried about coming in. So my plan is to get up early and watch the news. Hopefully, I am getting my panties in a wad for nothing! :rolleyes:

Zookeeper3 · Feb 3, 2011

Where I live we have a Level One Emergency which means NOBODY except EMERGENCY PERSONNEL are to be out on the roads, doing so one could be fined.[/quote']
I've driven through many driving bans because as a nurse I am emergency personale. I just show my hospital ID, when I approach police and I'm let through. I worked in Buffalo, you had to get in no matter what.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Feb 3, 2011

I'm scheduled to work tomorrow. I live close, so I'll just drive REALLY slowly. At that time of day, there are very few people on the road, so I'm not overly worried. I think the worst thing that would happen is that I could potentially slide into another car, but going 10 miles per hour on city streets, I think the risk to my life is pretty minimal.

Bella'sMyBaby · Feb 3, 2011

I've driven through many driving bans because as a nurse I am emergency personale. I just show my hospital ID, when I approach police and I'm let through. I worked in Buffalo, you had to get in no matter what.

Guess it all depends on how Bad the weather is.....

Not going to get very far after wrecking or stuck in the snow.....

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Feb 3, 2011

I was born and raised in sunny southern California and have been living in Texas for the past five years (read: I do not know how to drive in ice or snow).

I'm in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area of Texas, which was blasted with snow on early Tuesday morning. The people in this area are not accustomed to this kind of weather. People around here typically do not have tire chains, snow tires, and so forth. The drivers in this area generally do not know how to maneuver their vehicles safely in snow or ice. Even an inch of ice on the interstates is enough to shut school districts and businesses down in this area because it is considered debilitating.

My workplace paid for people to get to work by paying for taxi cabs to transport employees to and from the workplace. However, the taxis never arrived to many of the peoples' homes, even after repeated calls. I worked Monday night when the roads were dry, and attempted to get home on Tuesday morning in the snow and ice, but my rear wheel drive pickup truck was spinning out of control at only 10 miles per hour. I played it safe by parking my vehicle and arranging for a tow truck to safely get me (and my truck) home.

Those of us who live in certain parts of the country are not acclimated to driving in blizzards. Until the roads around here are cleared, or until the taxi cab picks me up to take me to work, I will not risk my life or personal property (my cars) to get to work.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Feb 3, 2011

I was born and raised in sunny southern California and have been living in Texas for the past five years (read: I do not know how to drive in ice or snow).
I'm in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area of Texas, which was blasted with snow on early Tuesday morning. The people in this area are not accustomed to this kind of weather. People around here typically do not have tire chains, snow tires, and so forth. The drivers in this area generally do not know how to maneuver their vehicles safely in snow or ice. Even an inch of ice on the interstates is enough to shut school districts and businesses down in this area because it is considered debilitating.

I don't think anyone can really drive safely on ice. Maybe with specialty tires or chains or something-I have relatives in the northeast where snow is common, but when they get ice storms, they stay home. Of course, none of them are nurses.