Bad weather and getting to the hospital

HM2VikingRN, RN · Dec 19, 2008

You call in and wait for the roads to clear. If you get hurt in an accident you won't be able to care for patients for several weeks or maybe never again. (There are going to be staff held over or volunteering to stay because they don't want to risk the roads.)

pink85 · Dec 19, 2008

Your facility should have a policy regarding that so don't worry!

ericalynn, BSN, RN · Dec 19, 2008

at our hospital they have staff members who live nearby who can drive pick you up or they have security in rented 4x4's come to pick you up. Here weather is NO excuse for staying home. I think it's dumb personally, we are so worried about our patients safety but when it comes to our own it's out the window.:icon_roll

sunray12 · Dec 19, 2008

at our hospital they have staff members who live nearby who can drive pick you up or they have security in rented 4x4's come to pick you up. Here weather is NO excuse for staying home. I think it's dumb personally, we are so worried about our patients safety but when it comes to our own it's out the window.:icon_roll

There are no snow days for essential personnel and inclement weather is usually forecast. If you're essential and you know it's coming then what people do is stay in the hospital the night before. (at least that's how it works for the health care professionals I know). There are also volunteers with 4WD/AWD who will come and get you if you don't have a snow friendly vehicle yourself. And you should have a night bag packed when they come in case the emergency goes on for a few days. If on the other hand you work for a clinic where patients can be canceled then that's a different story and you can probably stay home.

Medic09, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Dec 19, 2008

What they all said.

I had a friend in Massachussets who was an EMS instructor at a local college. He told his students there will be no 'snow days' cancelling class, regardless of college policy. EMS doesn't stop working in the snow; training won't either.

I live about a mile from the hospital, so I can walk to work in a bad storm for my nursing job. I live about 30 miles from my ambulance job. If there's a bad snow, I give myself two hours or more and head out very slowly. When I get to the spot where State Police have inevitably closed the interstate, they let me pass because that ambulance has to be manned (or wo-manned).

My flight job is a problem. It is over 60 miles away. But if the storm is that bad, the aircraft may be grounded anyway. The problem arises when the storm doesn't effect the airstrip, but it has hit up here at home. Then I start out early, and call in that I'll be late.

This is why my wife and I both drive Subarus!

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Dec 19, 2008

SusanKathleen. . .I lived in Ohio and Missouri where we had ice and snow also. Ice storms are more dangerous. In fact, we got (and probably still are getting) dumped with snow in the mountains out here right now. I don't miss it. Las Vegas schools got a snow day the other day, if you can believe that!

What I used to do was listen to the weather reports. Make sure you never let your gas tank go below half a tank. If there was going to be a snowstorm I started to work early. And, I mean I would start out an hour earlier. My brothers are truck drivers and the best piece of advice they ever gave me was to learn and follow the routes that the busses take because they always get through. The city busses are routed on main streets that are generally the ones that get the first maintenance during times like snowstorms. So, if worse comes to worse, follow the bus route to get to work. And, for safety, put the car in a low gear and go slow. Take a change of clothes with you in case you get stuck at the hospital and end up having to stay there because the roads are too bad to drive on and people are calling off because they can't get into work to relieve you.

For your car: You should have a broom to clear the snow off the car. Forget those little brushes for clearing off snow. The truck drivers use brooms. Put a bag or two of kitty litter in the trunk of your car in case you get stuck and need traction under the tires to get you out of an icy situation. Carry extra water and something to munch on. Throw an old blanket or two in the trunk. If you have a cell phone make sure you keep it powered up. And, as I mentioned, keep the car gassed up.

There was a time when a 30-minute drive ended up taking 2 hours during a snow storm. If there was anything I learned over the years it was to put the car in 1st gear and just go 15 miles an hour on snow covered roads if I had to. It may take two or three times longer to get where I was going, but I got there in one piece and without slipping or sliding. And stay away from the curbs if possible.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Dec 19, 2008

I never asked about transportation to my facility (LTC). But I know all the others I worked at while a CNA had the security people in 4x4's come and get you should you request it. At that time I didn't have a very snow friendly vehicle and lived at the top of a very long, steep hill, and always called them the night/day before the snow was expected and told them to put me on their list.

I was chatting with another nurse while waiting in line at a store yesterday, and she mentioned having to work the 7p-7a shift today. We have a big ol storm brewing and she said that the hospital she works for (a town over from me) has security going out to get essential employees if they can't get in with their own vehicles.

But I have never called out because of the weather. I would leave much much earlier than needed to get to work on time (and to also allow myself to drive at a snails pace so I wouldn't have an accident) or I'd call in plenty of time for the transportation people to come and get me, in time for me to start my shift on time.

iteachob, MSN, RN · Dec 19, 2008

I once worked at Maine Medical Center in Portland, ME. One night, I absolutely could not drive to work bacause although the roads had been plowed, my apartment's parking lot had not. I had to call in and wait for the 4 wheel drive (from the hospital) to pick me up. I was only 2 hours late.

Same hospital.... I knew of a worker who cross country skied into work. That's dedication!

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Dec 19, 2008

Last year, at my old job, when we faced record snowfall - the hospital had security come out in 4x4s to drive us in to work. Even then, we were short staffed... but we managed. :)

The funniest story was my (teenage) cousin who was shocked that I had to go to work despite the fact that the entire town (including his parents) was shutdown .... I had to explain to the kid that no matter who or how many close around town, hospitals can't afford to close :chuckle

Currently, I live about a mile away from the hospital. I'm reasonably certain that no matter how bad the weather gets, I ought to be able to get meself to work .... and back :)

I mean, after all.... I'm a native of Buffalo, New York. Seriously, nothing weatherwise scares me any more

cheers,

vamedic4, EMT-P · Dec 19, 2008

As others have said, your safety comes before anything else. Never forget that. Years ago we had an ice storm here in Dallas, I left for work at 1500 (for my 1900 shift). We got to work after about an hour and a half - to go 26 miles. That wasn't bad, we sometimes wait that long in traffic anyway - but this wasn't traffic, it was ice. Your safety, whether it's getting out for a clinical or an assigned shift - is your ultimate responsibility. If you can't get there, you just can't get there.

nrsang97, BSN, RN · Dec 19, 2008

The only time I have called out weather related was flooding. The water in the neighborhood was up to the doors on my dad's truck. No way I was going to go to work in that. There was enough staff that lived where there was no flooding. It was localized flooding to my area. The area I live in is a flood plain for the Rouge River and Ecorse creek. Every possible way to work for me was flooded. So no matter how I tried to go I would have gotten stuck.

As for snow I just leave early and go slow.