Is leaving before hurricane abandonment?

Nurses General Nursing

Updated:   Published

Hello all, so I am located at the very end of south Florida near the keys! My question is simply this, I'm supposed to work weekend during this hurricane which some are saying could be deadly. I have a small child and his safety is my priority. I want to evacuate but my job is saying that they could report me for abandonment. I really don't understand how because if I leave from my house, how have I abandoned their residents?? I am an LPN btw

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Julius Seizure said:
Maybe cranky, but you're not wrong. When I lived in Florida, all the nurses knew that hurricane duty was a risk of their 24/7 job and that they needed to have a plan for pets, kids, etc. If OP didn't realize this (a new nurse?), then its unfortunate nobody told them sooner. Every place that I worked at had staff fill out paperwork about hurricane plans yearly.

It's entirely possible that they told the OP, she filled out paperwork about hurricane plans and even signed it but still didn't realize that SHE would actually be expected to work. After all, she has a child. There seems to be no shortage of nurses who believe that someone else should cover for them because they HAVE A CHILD. I ran into it in the northwest, the midwest and the northeast with snowstorms and other natural disasters. And holidays.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Geez...

OP, the bottom line is, if your child's safety is at risk, do what you can to get your child to safety, even if it means missing work and possibly losing your job. You can get another job. May be difficult, but you can find another job.

Whether you should have already made arrangements is irrelevant at this point. Just make sure your child is safe.

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Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

Its not abandonment if you give notice and haven't accepted the assignment, but it's pretty crappy. You should make arrangements for your Son and help your facility evacuate or hunker down, whichever they're choosing to do. You can also be sure to lose your job over it.

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If you're under a mandatory evacuation order, how can they fault you? The hospital in the Keys is air-transporting patients to another state, by cargo plane, so I'm sure this is resolved by now.

However, your son is not required to work, and you are legally required to protect him by following state and federal orders. Failing to follow an evac order seems to mean you'd be prioritizing them over him. That just isn't an option for me.

I would go, and if I had to find another job, I'd say I was in an evac zone and my son was unsafe if I worked because he needed to be evacuated.

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Ruby Vee said:
The time to be making this plan was back in June, but five days ago would have been better than tonight.

I must be cranky after all those hours of hurricane prep in the past two days.

The time to be making the plan was when they initially moved to South Florida and/or started working in law enforcement and healthcare. It's not like it's a secret that there is an annual, ongoing risk of hurricanes there.

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Specializes in Med-surg, school nursing..

All the snark here...

OP, I feel you, you have a child, they are your priority, you want to keep them safe. As any parent would. But honestly as others have said, this hurricane has been developing for more than a night. And all reports have been that this is going to be a BIG one. As soon as you heard that, you should've made plans for your child. Whether it be driving all the way to Atlanta, meeting family half-way, asking your employer if your child could come, seeing if your husband could get off work to take your child somewhere safe--any of those. Waiting until the last minute is what I think puts a bad taste in everyone else's mouth.

No one is saying that your child's safety shouldn't come first. What they are saying is you live in Florida, where this kind of thing (though not as serious) happens often. You should have had a plan in place sooner. But you didn't, so now you have to make a decision. Leave with your kiddo and risk losing your job, or taking him to work with you.

You and your husband could talk about who has the job that pays the most, and who has the profession that will be most likely to find another job the easiest, then decide which of you will take your child. I do wish you the best of luck, and pray for your family's safety.

If it was me, and I hadn't made a plan, my kids would come first, jobs come and go. But I also would've taken my kid somewhere safe as soon as I heard how serious it was getting (that is in no way a jab at your parenting, I'm sure you are a great mother).

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.

Make sure your child is safe. If that means you don't go to work, then so be it. No one here has any right to judge you for that.

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Ruby Vee said:
You live in an area that has hurricanes, you've accepted a job with 24/7 staffing requirements, and your husband apparently has as well. So why haven't you discussed prior to this evening what the two of you will do to protect your child in this situation? It isn't as if Irma popped up last night. You knew you were scheduled to work; surely your husband must have known that he would also need to be at work. The time to be making this plan was back in June, but five days ago would have been better than tonight.

I must be cranky after all those hours of hurricane prep in the past two days.

You must be! Like I said, had I known, I would have preparations!

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CNAbutLPN2be2017 said:
You must be! Like I said, had I known, I would have preparations!

But what do you mean by "had I known"? You live in south Florida, a hurricane-prone area, and you work in healthcare. It's the middle of hurricane season, and there has been widespread reporting about Hurricane Irma for what, a week? What else would you need to know in order to make preparations?

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elkpark said:
But what do you mean by "had I known"? You live in south Florida, a hurricane-prone area, and you work in healthcare. It's the middle of hurricane season, and there has been widespread reporting about Hurricane Irma for what, a week? What else would you need to know in order to make preparations?

I just needed to know one simple thing, it was answered so why you feel like I need to explain my life story to you is a mystery to me! I'm done responding! Thank you

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I agree with Pghfoxfan1 - if it's a hospital all of these patients need to be discharged unless the sickest of sick and there will be nurses that will still be there to take care of them. If it's a LTC/Skilled Nursing Home, then they should be getting evacuated. The sick and elderly in these places need to get out of there now versus later. I wouldn't worry about it and do what is right for your family. Then be straight when looking for a new job later. Anyone with a heart will understand why you made the decision you did.

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In checking into volunteering for Hurrican Harvey I was upset in finding they only wanted RN's to volunteer. So in this case maybe an RN is better qualified to hang out for Irma??? Been a nurse for 10 plus years and have trained many an RN . In many cases I would feel much safer with my LPN co workers than the new RN's.

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