Posted February 7, 2011 - 2:30pm by Tracy
Swedish Covenant Hospital's staff braves the blizzard to serve patients
Once the wind died down on Thursday and Chicagoans began to dig themselves out of their homes, employees at Swedish Covenant Hospital started spreading the word about some amazing stories of perseverance, teamwork and patient care that came up during Chicago's 2011 blizzard.
While some nurses, physicians and other hospital staff members worked double and triple shifts, others came in on their days off to cover for colleagues and still more stayed overnight in the hospital. These brave employees trekked through the snow on foot, by bike and via crosscountry skis to get to the hospital — one even hailed a police car at 4 a.m., explaining that he needed to get to a bus stop so he could get to work 4 miles away. The officer was touched and drove him all the way there.
Engineers in the hospital worked night and day for three days straight in order to shovel the hospital's roads and sidewalks. Security staff members ventured out at all hours of the night pick-up stranded physicians and employees. Some nurses stayed in the hospital from Tuesday through Thursday, only taking breaks to nap and have an occasional snow ball fight.
The Blizzard has ended, but the rich stories (and photos) from the storm continue to pour out of the hospital. Many have been recorded on the hospital's employee news web site, TheScienceofFeelingBetter.org.
Check out the stories of some of the only people to venture out and work on Tuesday and Wednesday during the storm by clicking here. These health care professionals are a true inspiration.
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