In episode 5, there is a forest fire that has been impacting the community. At first, this was supposed to be something that was easily contained. However, the dry and windy conditions have made the situation more extreme (with the lingering smoke posing as a health risk). As a result, an advisory has been issues for everyone to stay indoors unless outside travel is absolutely necessary.

For the hospital, this means that they are facing an increasing number of patients being admitted secondary to the effects of smoke inhalation. Once the staff is able to effectively, deal with the current influx of patients, the hospital is inundated with another round of patients being admitted through the emergency room. This is placing pressure on the hospital staff, as they have to work longer hours and are often frustrated by these issues.

To make matters worse, the administration has announced that they will require everyone to work additional hours (with no overtime pay). This has angered many people, who believe that their timing is poor given the challenges they are facing. To make matters worse there is infighting between the staff about the availability of more beds (from patients who are constantly overwhelming the facility). This is creating a problem for staff members who feel as if they are not receiving the necessary assistance (“Neighborhood News,” 2012).
In the case of the senior center, everyone has been reporting negative effects from the smoke inhalation include the exacerbation of emphysema and asthma. This is impacting the health of older individuals in the community. They continue to be adversely being affected by the lingering smoke. As a result, the majority of people are staying indoors. However, they are unable to cope with these conditions which continues to make their underlying levels of health even worse (“Karen Williams,” 2012).

As far