Putting the patient first.(The Goodness Of America)

On October 7, a gas main ruptured outside George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. The resulting street fire forced the evacuation of hundreds of patients, physicians and nurses from the hospital. Cardiothoracic surgeon Bryan Steinberg and his team were performing a coronary bypass operation at the time. The patient was connected to a heart-lung machine.

During an interview published in the October 27 American Medical News, Dr. Steinberg recalled that they initially heard rumors about a possible fire in the street, then "people started coming in and making comments that there was a car on fire," then there was an explosion "and people started reporting there were flames 40 feet in the air." Eventually, "someone came in and said that the hospital was being evacuated."

The evacuation order created a dilemma for Dr. Steinberg and his team, as it clearly jeopardized the life of their patient. Dr. Steinberg was also concerned for his coworkers: "[W]e tried to get the nonessential people out and at the same time continue the ...