Is leaving before hurricane abandonment?

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Sep 15, 2017

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Someone is caring for your son while you are at work, I would hope they would continue to do so if you could not make it home

This might work if family is watching him, but nearly all of the professional daycares in my area won't keep children past 1800... let alone keep a child for days. That's assuming that they haven't closed the daycare so the staff can safely evacuate.

That's probably a moot point now, but generally easier said than done.

Kind of like someone protesting calling off for a sick child, because we're "responsible for finding backup childcare." Um.... children typically are not allowed to go to daycare if sick, and most people can't just call up a stay-at-home parent friend and ask if you can expose their kids to the bug. And in any case, a sick child should be resting at home -- not be carted somewhere else.

Skippingtowork · Sep 17, 2017

The hospitals I know have provisions for you to bring your children to work with you if you have to work during a hurricane. Many people that work in health care do not have trusted family or friends around, and daycares are closed. Some people have suggested that the OP evacuate her child and then return. What an absurd proposition. If her family is is Georgia, do you know how long it will take her to get there? Also, hurricanes sometimes change course. Also, where the OP was located, she was under mandatory evacuation, and the hospital should be evacuating, so she need not worry about working. To stay would be negligence on the hospital's part. There is also an expectation that if a husband and wife have small children and both are in health care or emergency services, one must stay with the children if no other arrangements can be made. I hope the OP left with her child. I have been through hurricanes and blizzards and blizzards are safer.

Purple_roses · Sep 17, 2017

OP, how are you? Hopefully your area didn't get hit as badly as was expected. What did you end up doing? Hope it all worked out for you and hope you and your kiddo remained safe.

Julius Seizure · Sep 17, 2017

Hurricane Irma: Some workers risk being fired if they evacuate

Relevant article about Florida laws regarding leaving if your job considers you essential personnel to work during the hurricane. (Spoiler alert: There is no state law protecting you from getting fired for leaving.)

Also, I think its cute how the article only mentioned ER doctors as healthcare personnel who might have to stay during a hurricane. Maybe they think the docs just do it all like on TV during natural disasters :rolleyes:

ccharlonne, ADN, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2017

I used to live in Florida and stayed at my hospital through a couple of hurricanes. My hospital was an emergency shelter and vent dependent people were sheltered there so they would have access to emergency power. Some observations:

1. I was aware of the disaster plan and what was expected of me. As a single parent I was able to bring my 2 kids with me when I reported during a disaster. The hospital was focused on getting through the disaster safely, and cared about the safety of patients staff, and family members.

2. All patients who could be discharged safely were discharged so they could evacuate. Those who could not be safely discharged remained in the hospital.

3. Although I was at the hospital for several days, I was not working non-stop. The hospital provided meals and we had designated sleeping areas.

After I left Florida and returned to New England, I worked through a blizzard and some bad winter storms. Again, the disaster plan was discussed during orientation so I knew what was expected of me.

Yes, I would have liked it if I could have skipped going to work during disasters, but there is also such a sense of teamwork among everyone working together during the crisis that isn't there on regular work days. I love being a nurse, and accept that being "essential personnel" comes with some costs, but on the flip side there are also some intangible benefits.

Just my $0.02. If I decided I didn't want to work during disasters, I would find a different job outside the hospital, but after 10 years I still love bedside nursing.

Sour Lemon · Sep 17, 2017

Purplemommy said:
Oh my goodness! If your husband is a corrections officer and you have NO ONE who can take charge if your child, then you need to get out of healthcare. You can't both have jobs that require emergency response if you don't have backup for your children. Yes everyone's situation is different. But you owe it to patients AND your child to do what is best for BOTH of them. You're in healthcare. You are required to respond if needed to care for patients. If you can't fulfill that roll, find a job you can fully commit to. If your child was the patient you'd be horrified if that CNA/LPN/RN or any other discipline didn't show up to work in a hurricane because they didn't plan responsibly. You live in a state with hurricanes. That's your notice. You must always be prepared. I'm not sure what you decided to do, but I hope you get your ducks in a row ASAP before the next one comes around. You & your husband have some life decisions to make.

Oh, yes! Divorce your husband ....put your child up for adoption. Do whatever it takes to make yourself available 24/7 for your per diem CNA job. And if you must be elsewhere at any given time when you've been asked to work, just cut yourself in half and leave your dying, bleeding stump to punch that time clock. It's of the utmost importance.

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Sep 18, 2017

Here.I.Stand said:
This might work if family is watching him, but nearly all of the professional daycares in my area won't keep children past 1800... let alone keep a child for days. That's assuming that they haven't closed the daycare so the staff can safely evacuate.
That's probably a moot point now, but generally easier said than done.
Kind of like someone protesting calling off for a sick child, because we're "responsible for finding backup childcare." Um.... children typically are not allowed to go to daycare if sick, and most people can't just call up a stay-at-home parent friend and ask if you can expose their kids to the bug. And in any case, a sick child should be resting at home -- not be carted somewhere else.

If your child is at a pro child care center, are they just going to throw him into the dirt? I can't imagine

that happening if there is an emergency. At the very least, the day care needs to have the authorities

take care of the child if the parents don't show up and they can't reach a parent-designated emergency contact person.

Sour Lemon · Sep 18, 2017

Kooky Korky said:
If your child is at a pro child care center, are they just going to throw him into the dirt? I can't imagine
that happening if there is an emergency. At the very least, the day care needs to have the authorities
take care of the child if the parents don't show up and they can't reach a parent-designated emergency contact person.

I think most of us would rather not have social services called to pick up our children from day care. In an extreme emergency (I'm dead?), maybe ...but if there's any kind of forewarning that I might not be able to pick my kid up, the kid's not getting dropped off.

Julius Seizure · Sep 18, 2017

Oh, yes! Divorce your husband ....put your child up for adoption. Do whatever it takes to make yourself available 24/7 for your per diem CNA job. And if you must be elsewhere at any given time when you've been asked to work, just cut yourself in half and leave your dying, bleeding stump to punch that time clock. It's of the utmost importance.

I laughed so hard at the end of this!:roflmao: :lol2:

JKL33 · Sep 18, 2017

Julius Seizure said:
Hurricane Irma: Some workers risk being fired if they evacuate
Relevant article about Florida laws regarding leaving if your job considers you essential personnel to work during the hurricane. (Spoiler alert: There is no state law protecting you from getting fired for leaving.)
Also, I think its cute how the article only mentioned ER doctors as healthcare personnel who might have to stay during a hurricane. Maybe they think the docs just do it all like on TV during natural disasters

I did have to chuckle at one thing. From the article:

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Yormak said the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration's laws could be an employee's best source of protection. Most employees cannot be retaliated against for refusing to go into an unsafe workplace, he said, though some occupations, such as first responders, are inherently dangerous

That is so vastly out of the realm of their (OSHA's) take on taking a drink of water in "patient care areas" I forgot they actually cared about real safety issues.

Anyway. Hospitals are some of the safer places to be in this situation so I'm not sure it would be particularly relevant for nurses who feel torn between obligations or concerned about safety.

Ashlita · Sep 18, 2017

See this is one of the problems with people today. If you live in a place that could be hit with a disaster your best bet is to work at mcdonalds instead of being in the medical field. So who is supposed to take care of the innocent patients who put their lives in our hands? If you are scheduled to work then you must work. Point blank period!!! If you cant handle that responsibility then please go flip burgers or bag groceries where people are not depending on you. Of course your family is important but so are the patients. I live in oklahoma and i can't just say hey.. There is tornado heading this way, i'm leaving... Or i'm not coming in today because the chance of severe weather is high. My family would be with me at work.. I know they are safe, i have access to medical supplies if needed and i can take care of my patients. The fact that this is even a question is ridiculous. You should really rethink your career

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · Sep 18, 2017

This is after the storm now, but I think a lot of us are mixing up things that we have read from several different posts about the same storm but slightly different situations regarding working during the storm.

From what I can see the OP is located very close to the keys (not sure how close but assuming close enough given the size of the beast). When the term "residents" was used and that she's an LPN, I'm assuming she works for a nursing home or similar and not a HOSPITAL. Now, evacuations are ordered based on storm surge, not winds. I would seriously consider the buildings strength to withstand those winds that were a possibility of battering that building if it wasn't ordered to be evacuated due to elevation. I know many in my area would have been blown away with a direct hit. As we have seen by the deaths that occurred in one facility, management can lack a great deal of common sense when it comes to disaster management.

Hospitals are well built and many allow families to come. Probably a pretty safe place to take shelter from the storm. Taking shelter in a nursing home...which may or may not allow families to take refuge there and even then may get blown away during the storm? Just because a location won't flood does not mean that it is safe. The residents are just safe from drowning in storm surge. I would not stay in my condo. It's in a "safe zone" but would still be flattened.

The OP had to do what was best for her family. We live with the consequences of the actions we take. I would rather lose a job than bury a child. Maybe the OP thought that her facility would have been evacuated if a storm like this was coming when she accepted a job in a nursing home? I don't know. I just think that there have been a lot of judgemental posts made here toward someone asking for advice during a very difficult situation.