Mutual Support Case

A rural hospital decided to give back to their healthcare workers for their tireless work and
hosted an appreciation luncheon outside to take advantage of the July summer sun. The buffet
was stocked by a local barbeque staple and the menu included salad, deviled eggs, mac and
cheese, pulled pork, grilled chicken, hamburgers and a variety of fresh fruits and side dishes.
Although it was a hot day, the healthcare workers enjoyed the festivities.
The day after the event, however, a large number of healthcare workers called in sick that
attended the luncheon, reporting diarrhea, fever, and painful stomach cramps. As a result, the
hospital systems emergency management and infection prevention teams have been tasked
with responding and have been asked to report these incidents to the State Department of
Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). They are worried that this may be a food-related
illness.
Ruth, a public health provider, formally reported the incidents to DHEC and was on her way to
meet with the hospital administrators and the rest of the hospital systems emergency
management and infection prevention team.
Samuel, a hospital administrator, took lead in the meeting. “Do we really think this is that big of
an issue? No staff have gotten tested or provided any laboratory evidence that this is a food-
related illness. Furthermore, we are coming off the 4th of July weekend. Who is to say that if
this is a food-related illness that they got it from the luncheon and not some shady cook out by
the lake.”, Samuel said raising his hands.
Ruth and a representative from the human resources healthcare team, Mary, were in accord.
“Samuel, I know that this is not great timing as we are understaffed but it is important that we
get to the bottom of this. I do not think that it is a coincidence that 20 staff members and
providers called in sick today and all of them attended the luncheon.,” said Mary.
“I agree with you Mary. I spoke with DHEC and there have been some informal reports
regarding some produce that has been sold in the area. I think it is best that we reach out to
those who have called in sick and ask that they come in for some lab tests. DHEC also
recommended that any lab results be reported to PulseNet at the CDC for tracking and further
analysis. We need to determine everything each of them ate. I also think that it may be a good
idea to reach out to others that attended the luncheon to let them know that we are looking
into this and to see if they too are experiencing the same symptoms,” Ruth said looking to
Samuel.
Nelson, the laboratory manager, started shaking his head, “Our labs are running behind as it is. I
know what you are saying Ruth but if my lab techs and I have to run tests on potentially all of
the providers and staff who attended the luncheon, we may have to run over a hundred tests.
The luncheon had a big turn out and that could take me a week to do. If this is food-related, it
may pass over by then.”
“I let my whole unit of staff rotate so they could all participate in the luncheon. I didn’t want
anyone to miss out. Now three of my nurses are sick and like, Nelson, my unit is already short
staffed. If we encourage all of those who attended the luncheon to get tested, who is going to
serve our patients while they get labs run?”, Sandy, a nurse case manager advocated.
“Now hold on here. I don’t think everyone who attended the luncheon should get tested. If
anything, I think only those who called in sick should be surveyed. I just think this is going too
far. We are already short staffed as several of you have mentioned. We can’t just go causing a
panic over a suspicion and what could be a mere coincidence. This was an appreciation
luncheon for goodness sake! How appreciated will the staff feel if this is a food-related illness?”

Instructions for discussion:

Be sure to incorporate steps and information learned from the Mutual Support video to discuss
how team members could have responded differently in this situation. Some topics might
include:

• What barriers to effective teamwork existed in this situation?

• How could the team members use situational awareness to improve communication
and patient care?
• What TeamSTEPPS technique(s) could have been used in this scenario, and by whom?
• Why is it so important to get DHEC and the CDC involved in the case?
• If you were in this meeting, what would you contribute to the conversation?
• If you were in this situation as a staff member who has called in sick and may have been
impacted by a food-related illness, what would you want to see done?
• In this course, how have you used mutual support to improve your interactions with
your teammates?

Helpful Links:

• Foodborne Outbreaks-- https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/outbreaks/investigating-

outbreaks/investigations/detection.html
• Food Safety-- https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/foods-linked-illness.html
• PulseNet-- https://www.cdc.gov/pulsenet/index.html