Ann Mayberry trudges through the snow last week at Vanderbilt. The weather prompted VUMC officials to set up the Incident Command Center. (photo by Dana Johnson)
VUMC pushes through snowstorm
Oliver Han, 12, laughs as he throws a snowball outside the hospital. Han and several other employees’ children came to Vanderbilt after schools were closed during the snowstorm last Thursday. (photo by Dana Johnson)
Morale was high at the “slumber party” at Godchaux Hall last week during the snowstorm as many of the nurses and staff spent the night. Pictured, left to right, are Toni Hill, Rachel Rock, Debbie Hill, Doug Sturgeon, Mazo Freeman, and Dianne Eberhard. (photo by Anne Rayner Pollo)
An eight-foot snowman dressed as a doctor stood outside the hospital after the snowstorm last week. (photo by Dana Johnson)
As the snow mounded last Thursday, administrators at VUMC worried about the travel safety for employees as well as patients and families coming to and from the Medical Center.
The inclement weather prompted Bryan Brand, the administrator on-call, to activate the Emergency Preparedness Plan and its related Incident Command Center. The hospital was placed in an Internal Disaster mode for inclement weather. The Command Center was utilized to assist with the coordination of mission critical staff.
Becky Keck, assistant hospital director: Nursing Finance and Operation, shared concerns with her colleagues about having the Thursday night shift and Friday day shift workers stranded on the road with hazardous driving conditions. Many employees commute from outside Davidson County, some living as far away as Kentucky. The solution: a makeshift hotel with more than 260 employee guests. Mary Duvanich, assistant patient care center administrator, coordinated the “hotel.”
The “guests” signed in at the Command Center housed in the Learning Center in Medical Center North. There they picked up toiletry bags and linens and received their room assignments. The hospital was at peak inpatient capacity, so space was limited. Employees were housed throughout the Medical Center in TVC exam rooms, MCE OR pre-op holding rooms and the Learning Center. Showers were available in locker rooms throughout the Medical Center and Dayani Center. Managers also stayed on site and many slept in their offices.
In addition to taking care of staff, the case managers assisted with patient discharge and related local hotel accommodations for patients who could not get home. Many case managers also assisted with patient care staffing.
“I’ve always known we have exceptional employees and this was just one example of the level of commitment our staff have to their work,” Keck said. “It took coordination from several departments to pull this off. In particular, Distribution, Linen Services, Plant Services, Information Services, Volunteer Services, Safety, Pharmacy, Nutrition Services and Environmental Services all played key roles in the coordination of the ‘sleep over.’
“Everyone rolled up their sleeves to make this happen. The experience left me with a great sense of pride in our staff, managers and administrators.”