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Snow Storm

In: Business and Management

Submitted By niesha
Words 1103
Pages 5
Introduction
During the time of a severe snow storm the Chief Officer of a non-profit community hospital was out of the country on vacation. A majority of the staff could not make it in for their shifts. Patient units were understaffed and the day shift personnel were forced to work overtime. The nurse on duty left to get dinner. As a result, several injuries from falls out of beds and a death from wrongful medication occurred. There are multiple issues in question in this scenario. The objective of this paper is to identify the legal, ethical and professional considerations of the hospital. It will also further explain and summarize the effects on the business and reputation of the hospital in the future.
Hospital personnel face several dilemmas, legal and/or ethical on a daily basis. A well-developed disaster plan would have been instrumental in dealing with internal and external issues in such a large snow storm. Regardless of the weather, the hospital is still required to provide adequate care to its patients. Failure to do so raises several legal questions.
There are at least three legal matters to be considered. First there are the legal considerations of
Liability and Staffing. Was the hospital adequately staffed to provide a sufficient standard of care? In corporate negligence, it is the hospital that owes a legal duty directly to the patient. (Showalter, 2007, p. 136) The premise of this law states that hospital is responsible for providing a staffed facility, the equipment and safe environment needed to provide care for its patients. If violation to this law is the cause of injury, liability can be considered in regard to standard of care. (Showalter, 2007, p. 138) The second legal question is whether the hospital is Negligent. Negligence is defined as the failure to do what a reasonably, careful and prudent person would do under the same

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