Chaos at Crescent City Medical Center (12 page)

"Suppose you do."   Alex returned the smile
, touching his arm for support
.  "Some of these things have been with me a long time.  You know me, I find something I love, and I can never quite give it up."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized the implications of what she'd said.  "The furniture of course," she added hastily, turning red with embarrassmen
t, her heart beating frantically.

Robert grinned at her
and replied, "I understand what you mean.  I'm the same way.
Anyway, the place is
beautiful;
the floors are in great shape.
  You did a lot
of
renovation?"

"Yes, a complete renovation.  I lived in the warehouse district the first year I was her
e, while this house was being renovated
.  Can I offer you some brewed decaf and chocolate raspberry mousse pie?"

"My favorite, as you may remember.  Yes, on both accounts."  He accompanied Alex into the kitchen.  Robert looked around and noted the silver tray and
wine
decanter in the dish drainer.  He immediately felt guilty.  "I'm so sorry, you must've had company."

He remembered walking past two men several houses down.  One of them seemed familiar to
him;
probably so
meone he'd gone t
o school with but now wondered i
f one of them was Alex’s beau.  He felt a pang of jealously
and was surprised by it
.

Alex followed his gaze and simply said, "I had a friend over for dinner.  We'd finished when you called.  It's okay.  Don't worry about it.  Coffee
is almost ready.
"

As they drank their coffee and ate their pie, Robert
once again admired the beauty of the hand rubbed kitchen
cabinets
and the colors in the hand-painted tiles in the kitchen.  He hesitated fo
r a moment before he continued
.  "I didn't have anyone else to talk to.
No one I could really trust.
I trust you, and you know what happened.  There's something strange going on, and I can't sort it all out.  I'm hoping you can help me." 

Alex
intently gazed at Robert
and said
, “
What do you think is wrong?"

As he searched for the best words, Alex watched him carefully, looking for signs of anxiety and discomfort. 
Robert
replied,
"I know you may think this is stupid and that I'
m reading into things and perhaps
I am.  But, I feel as
if someone is trying to hurt or destroy me
. I don't know why.  It's just a gut feeling."

"What makes you think so?  Anything specific?"  

"Some specifics, but nothing concrete
to validate my feelings
.  I've had trouble with some business dealings.  I've been pressured to sell some land, but I've refused.  In and of itself, that's really not a big deal.  I've been dating a woman for several months, and that relationship has been deteriorating.  It's probably my fault.  I just don't trust her anymore.  Don't know why exactly.  It's just a feeling.  She's a real-estate broker, very successful, and she's been pressuring me to sell the same land.  Of course, I realize she has a vested interest in the sale, but I have plenty of other property she could sell, and probably make more money. She brought me a generous offer on the property from some out of town
venture capital group
. 
I have a suspicion that someone must want to develop that last bit
of river front with a casino or
hotel because only an investment like that could pay off. 
I don't remember who
the
v
entur
e
capitalists were
.  I turned it down.  Anyway, since then I've gotten several threatening phone
calls suggesting that bad
things would happen to me or people I cared about if I didn't sell the land.  Truth
is, it’s
really not mine to sell.  I own it jointly with
my father
.  I know he won't sell, so I haven't even asked."  Robert paused for a moment to think and then continued
:

"I got another phone call at Gulf Shores this past weekend, sort of a 'sell or else' call.  I hung up on them.  Then, this morning I got to work and found out about Grace Raccine.  I can't help but think that all of this is possibly tied together."

Alex interrupted him saying, "I hardly think someone attacked Grace Raccine because you wouldn't sell some land.  Think about it.  Whoever attacked her is certainly
bad, very
evil, but don't you think it's more likely a political maneuver?"   

"Maybe
, but remember that the
Raccine’s
and my family have been friends for years
.
  Grace is practically my
second
mother.  Their son
, Ron,
was my best friend until he was killed
five years ago in Afghanistan
.  Ron Raccine and I were practically brothers, and I virtually lived at the Raccine's house when I was growing up. I think
they,
whoever they are, they're trying to get at me, maybe through the Raccines.  When I put all this together, particularly when I factor in what you told me yesterday about the malpractice actions and the internal compl
aints, I can't help but wonder if
the events
are rel
ated, you know, like a conspirac
y.
"  Robert paused and carefully watched
Alex's reaction.

Alex shook her head but her response was pensive as she clicked through Robert’s concerns.  She remembered the tragic death of Ron Raccine.  It was shortly after t
heir divorce
,
and she had witnessed
Robert’s
sadness.  He was
devasta
ted
. 
It seemed as if his world was crashing down.  She had
met Ron Raccine
, a West Point graduate,
several times
, and
had really liked and respected him, especial
ly his patriotism
when he
easily
could have been dismissed from entering an unpopular war.

“I don’t know, Robert, I’m not sure.  Some of these things are totally unrelated to the hospital.
  It just doesn't make sense.  Anything else
going on
?"

"
Just o
ne more thi
ng and it j
ust happened a couple of hours ago. 
I g
ot a phone call from a man.  Said he had to warn me that someone wanted to
kill me.  Told me to be careful, that he thought they were planning to kill me very soon.
"

"What
!  That’s awful. What else,
did he say anything else?
  Did you
call the police?
"  Alex could feel her heart thudding in her chest.

"Not really.  Said he called to warn me because I'd been good to him. 
He s
aid I'd helped him out in the past when no one else would."

"Who do you think it was?"  Alex felt tingly all over
while chill bumps popped up on her arms
.
  She was scared and anxious for Robert.

"Don't have a clue.  Could be a patient, or a family member. 
Could be some patient from the free clinic I run.
I jus
t don't know.  He sounded young
and scared."  Robert repeatedly tapped his spoon against the table.

Alex shook her head.  "
This is f
rightening, extremely
frightening. 
You
should call the police."

"No, maybe later.  I just wanted to tell someone.  I'm going to
wait
a few days
and see what turns up
."

Alex's forehead was creased into frown lines as she considered Robert's story.  "Do you believe in voodoo?"

He thought carefully before answering.  "I believe in forces of good and evil.  I think voodoo is simply a manifestation, an instrument of evil, but whether I believe in it or not is irrelevant at this point."  Rob
ert appeared
sad
.  "Alex, I feel responsible for what happened to Grace Raccine.  I think someone used her to get at me."

Alex sighed and spoke, "Robert, it's late and we're both tired.  Neither of us
is
thinking
very well or
objectively.  Let'
s talk later and try to figure this out
. 
In the meantime, please
p
lease please be very careful. 
Please call me if you need help. 
Is Mrs. Raccine better?"

Robert nodded.  “I will keep in touch and let you know.  Grace
was the same at nine tonight.  I stopped by the hospital to make late rounds."  Robert paused and added cautiously, "When I say okay, I mean okay physically.  There's no improvement in her level of responsiveness
; she’s
in a catatonic state
."

Alex shook her head sadly. 
"Let's pray she im
proves," Then she smiled and yawned for
her king
-
sized Euro mattress.

"It's getting late.  I'll talk to you soon.  Thanks for letting me come over. 
It m
eans a lot to have a friend
, someone I can trust
."  Robert looked grateful and smiled sheepishly.
He reached out and hugged Alex
,
and she hugged him back.

As soon as Robert left, Alex
remembered
she'd forgotten to ask him about the new board member.  A small sense of fear swept over her
,
and she wondered if Kevin Anderson
figur
ed into Robert's troubles.  The
thought kept returning to her as she prepared for bed.  Alex slept fitfully the entire night, with dreams of bloodied roosters, snakes, and angry realtors interrupting her night's rest.

Alex walked to work the next morning.  The day was crisp and beautiful, and the sun was shining brightly.  New Orleans was lovely in February. 
The air was fresh and fragrant from the smell of lilacs
,
and the tulip trees were in full bloom.  The walk also made Alex long for a simpler time, like springtime on the family farm in Virginia.

The walk
was invigorating and
gave Alex time to clear her head and
figure out
the best way to handle yesterday’s events.
She entered the hospital and was pleased that everything seemed normal.  There'd only been one news truck in the parking lot.  Good, she thought.  Maybe we're old news.

The lights were out in her office.  Bridgett wasn't in, but she usually came in around nine after she dropped her little boy at school. I've got a lot for her to do today, Alex thought. I hope she comes in. 
She checked her voice mail and t
here was an
urgent
message from
the night nursing supervisor asking her to come to the nursing office right away.  Alex left her office immediately and met Bette Farve on the way.

"Morning, Bette.  Where're you headed."

Bette nodded stiffly at her and kept on walking.  Alex ran after her.

"Bette, I had a message to report to the nursing office.  What's happening?"

"More than you want to know about,” Bette snapped
, her
rigid face
displayed
her anger and irritability
. 
“
Fifty percent of the nursing staff
has
called in sick
,
and we need an emergency staffing plan.  Thought you may want to be included."

"Fifty percent?
What the hell!  What's going on?"  Alex asked,
alarmed, as visions of food poisoning
,
the Ebola virus
and flesh eating bacteria
ran through her mind.
 
“Oh
no, this
couldn’t be more of the voodoo stuff, could it?”

"Beats me. 
I d
on't have a clue."  Bette rolled her eyes.

Alex wondered why Bette was being so accommodating
when she usually did her best to make Alex appear unprepared and incompetent
.  "We've never had an absentee rate like this.  Are the absences confined to specific units?" 

"
As b
est I can tell, they're spread throughout the house.  I don't know what's going on.  Prob
ably just a bunch of lazy asses
looking for a day off."  Bette was sarcastic.
  Somehow that remark hadn’t sounded so bad when her grandfather had said it yesterday.

Alex bit back a bitter retort. 
“They are probably afraid the
y
’ll
‘
catch’ the voodoo curse. 
You talked to Don?
”

"I left him a message.  I'm going to meet with my assistant vice-presidents to review staff numbers. 
I g
uess these call-ins are related to yesterday?" 

"
Can I
a
ttend your meeting?" Alex
expect
ed
Bette to say no.

"Yes, whatever plan we come up with will have to me
e
t with your approval anyway, so we may as well get your advice early.  Besides, I'm flying out of here tomorrow for New York. 
I have
tickets to three plays and nothing's going to keep me from going." 

Alex was amazed
Bette was including her
but suspected it was due to her upcoming vacation.  "When do you meet?"

"Now. Let's go," Bette said.

***

The vice-presidents for nursing were drinking coffee and talking among themselves when Bette and Alex arrived.

The news wasn't good.  T
here were
currently
273 in
patients in the hospital at CCMC
,
not counting the patients housed on the research units.   Critical care, med
icine, and oncolo
gy were full. This represented
a decreased census rate of 50% since yesterday. 

The vice-president for surgery reported that eighty percent of her staff had called in sick.   Ten percent of the critical care and emergency room staff had called in, but sixty percent of staff scheduled in medicine and oncology had also called in.  The vice-presidents had already instructed the secretaries and staffing coordinators to call staff at home
that
were scheduled off and ask them t
o
cover.

Alex said, "We need to close some units.  Suggestions?"

Bette, her face
as
bright red
as her dyed hair
, shrieked at Alex.  "You're crazy
!
  We can't shut down units.  Think about what that means to hospital revenues.  We're having enough trouble keeping our market edge.  I refuse to close units, and besides, Don would never allow it.
  God knows what Obama
C
are is going to do us and now you want to close beds.
" 

"
Bette, be reasonable
.
I
f there are no patients
,
there is no revenue
.  B
esides, t
here's nothing els
e we can do.  We can't run a six hundred bed
hospital on fifty percent staff. 
Logically, that would suggest that we
needed one hundred
of our scheduled staff. 
We're setting ourselves up for trouble.  Be practical.  Our staff would run themselves ragged, and they'd be exhausted after two days.  Fatigue itself would cause
mistakes and accidents, and our quality outcomes would
d
ecrease
."

Bette was furious and invaded Alex’s personal space, her head inches from Alex’s face.
"I’m not closing units
. Do you understand?  We'll check out
agency staff to get us through this.
”  She moved away from Alex and glared at her VPs.  “
Anyone have any idea what is going on here?"
She waited.
 
“
Come on, I know some of you know.  Why
are they calling in
sick?
  This will count against them, their pay will be docked
,
and
they will not be able to count it as a vacation day. Tell them that.  I damn well guarantee it.
" 

  No one spoke.
Th
e tension in the room
permeat
ed
the atmosphere. 
Bette was not defeated and said in a menacing voice,
her nostrils flaring,
"Some of you have good grapevine
access;
you must have some idea why we have this sudden rash of sick calls.  Someone better speak up.  Diane, what do you know?"

Diane shook her head.  "I have no idea, Bette.  Had a three day weekend and was out of town.  I haven't even checked my units yet. Didn't even know about Mrs. Raccine until this morning when I came to work."

Diane Bradley, the assistant vice-president for critical care,
stood up
to Bette. 
Very little intimidated the veteran nurse
.  Diane continued speaking,
"However, Alex is right.  We need some contingency plans and we need to close units. I do suggest we develop
several emergency staffing plans to get us through the next few days.  Meanwhile, let's decide what to do today.  We have patients on these units who have no nurse taking care of them. From what I can tell, the ICU and the emergency department are in pretty good shape.  Medicine and surgery are a problem.  I can lend some staff from critical care."

Alex smiled
gratefully at Diane and
could have kissed her.
She wa
s about to speak when her cell phone started to ring and the overhead hospital paging system began to STAT page
her to administration
.

"Got to go.  Your suggestion is
good, Diane."  Turning to Bette
,
she said, "I'd like an opportunity t
o talk with you after you develop
your plan.  I'm free this afternoon.  Good luck." 
Alex stood and smiled
at the assistant VPs
for nursing
.

Betty hollered after her.
"Just remember that I'm going away tomorrow.  Any extra expenses here will be between you and Don," Bette warned on her way out.

"I'll take full res
ponsibility," Alex said, and closed
the door as she
walked quickly towards the administrative suite.

On her way to administration, Alex ran into Elizabeth Tippet.  "I've been paged to administration.  How about you?"

"
Same.
Any idea what's happening?" Elizabeth said.

"Nope, but we'll know in a minute.  How'd you sleep last night?"

"Not well at all. 
Had bad d
reams all night.  Do you have any more information about the voodoo?  I can't believe
we're in
the twenty-first
century
,
and people in this city believe in this crap. 
It's beyond me
,
" Elizabeth sigh
ed. 

Alex nodded agreement and said, “Well, they do.  Half of the staff called in
today.  Census is down over fifty percent
from yesterday.”

“That’s great, that’s just great.  Don will be even more freaked,
”
Elizabeth
replied as she
sarcastically shook
her head.

As the two women entered the administration suite, they saw Don, John Ashley and Robert Bonnet seated
at the conference table
where they talked
quietly
.  John and Robert stood as Alex and Elizabeth walked in.  Don kept his seat.

Al
e
x
asked
quickly, "What's going on?"

Robert spoke dire
ctly to Alex, "Mrs. Raccine's is in
c
ardiac distress.  I'm afraid
she could go bad on us very quickly.  I've called in the chief of cardiology and he's with her now.
  We’ll be transferring her to the CCU."  Robert was concerned and looked sad.

"How's she mentally?" Elizabeth said.

"Unchanged
.
The nurses report that she's moving about and grimacing.  Although she remains uncon
scious, it looks as though she may be
remembering
something
."

Alex said,
"Well, that could be good news
p
rovided that when she wakes up
she doesn't have a heart attack."

"Our fears exactly," Dr. Ashley replied.  "Meanwhile, three newspapers have called for a press release, and unfortunately, the Associated Press picked up the story
,
and it ran in every major newspaper this morning. 
The Washington Post, New York Times,
Los Angeles Times,
and
Miami Herald
have correspondents who are eating breakfast in the hospital cafeteria."

"Did we offer them
me
al vouchers," Elizabeth glanced
sideways at Don Montgomery.  "We need to keep them as happy as possible and have another press conference.  If these
news
papers have sent representatives, you can bet all other major print media and news networks will send journalists, too."

Don's secretary, Latetia, appeared at the door.  "Mr. Montgomery, we have
People
Magazine
on the phone, and CNN just called and asked to speak with you.  I told them you're in a meeting, so they said they'd be sending a correspondent and news team down.  What are we supposed to say to these people?
  What are we supposed
to do
with them?
"  Latetia stood at the door, and refused
to move until someone told her what to do.

After a brief silence, Elizabeth spoke up and said, "Tell anyone that calls that the hospital will be holding a press conference at five today.  We'll take questions from reporters."  She looked at Dr. Ashley and Don Montgomery.  "We have to address their questions openly and honestly.  Otherwise we'll get more negat
ive publicity if it seems we are covering things up
.  We also need to get Governor Raccine to come.  If he's supportive of us, it'll help us tremendously.  Robert, you know the Governor.  Will he participate?"