As Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Yore Medical Center, a small, critical access hospital in rural Midwest, you receive a phone call at 3am that there’s a fire on your one, 10-bed inpatient unit.

Scenario: As Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Yore Medical Center, a small, critical access hospital in rural Midwest, you receive a phone call at 3am that there’s a fire on your one, 10-bed inpatient unit. You rush to the scene to support and guide the staff and upon arrival the fire fighters tell you that they only have time to rescue 5 of the 10 patients. As CMO, it is your job to determine the five patients you will attempt to save first. Inpatients include:

 1. A gay primary care physician. He is addicted to drugs and is hospitalized due to withdrawal symptoms. Age 62 

2. A black minister from Zimbabwe. Protestant. Speaks no English. Hospitalized for a heart condition. Age 27 

3. A prostitute. She served in Afghanistan but came home broke and homeless. She was living on a park bench upon her return and contracted viral meningitis which landed her quarantined in the hospital. Age 33 

4. A male prisoner. Doing a 20 year sentence for arson. Hospitalized with lung cancer. He is the only patient that is calm and capable of navigating through the smoke. Age 42 

5. A schizophrenic man. He was a navy seal until he started hearing voices and carries important government secrets in his head. Age 45 

6. A toddler orphan girl. 4 years old. Hospitalized after a bacteria in her leg led to amputation. 

7. A crippled boy paralyzed by falling out of a tree in his backyard. Wheelchair bound, he cannot use his hands so he must be fed and cared for by others. Age 8 

8. A female Jewish restaurant owner. She is married with 4 children at home. Contracted HIV during a scandalous affair which led to her hospitalization due to a respiratory infection. Age 38 

9. A catholic nun. Supervisor of a girl’s school. Hospitalized for early onset Alzheimer’s. Age 50 

10. An unemployed man. He has been married and divorced 3 times with 3 children (one from each marriage). Hospitalized for a stroke that left his whole left side paralyzed. Age 67 

Questions to answer: 

1. Which 5 inpatients would you save and why? Apply course concepts to support your logic using material on DEI, personality, perception bias, and motivation. What inferences/conclusions do you find yourself making based on the little amount of information provided for the 10 patients? How do these conclusions impact who you chose? **You do not need to explain who you did NOT choose, just who you DO choose.

 2. Which leadership theory best exemplifies the type of leadership needed in this situation? Discuss your decision making process and how Emotional Intelligence plays a role in this crisis. 

3. Explain the type of stress this scenario causes and provide a solution on how to mitigate

 4. What communication concepts/strategies would you apply/use in this scenario? Think about the communication with hospital staff, the patients you chose, as well as those you did not choose. How, if at all, would your approach differ?