Away from home with no experience staying through hurricanes, facing down one of the worst storms the state had ever seen, and watching as even many of the full-time staff at hospital opted to leave, Price had every reason to leave too. Instead, she decided to stay.

Stacy Price, a 33-year-old nurse from Pennsylvania, is no stranger to storms. But in her North-eastern hometown, the storms she’s used to are more of the snow-and-more-snow variety. She became one of the 20 or so official “ride-out nurses” on her medical ICU unit who voluntarily opted to ride out Hurricane Florence. Price explains that although she was nervous, she felt comforted going into the experience by how well-prepared the hospital staff was and how adequately they were able to answer her questions. She also considered the logistics of her situation: the apartment she was currently staying at was located near the river, where flooding would be imminent, and the hospital, in its position on a hill and equipped with plenty of generators and supplies, was likely to be a safer option.

In addition to prepping their patient load, by transferring any critical patients out of the hospital ahead of time, the hospital also prepped all of the staff on the ride-out team with a list of supplies they would need to bring with them, such as bedding, 7-10 days worth of clothing, any extra food they wanted other than the 3 meals the hospital would provide daily, towels, and medication. They placed 3-4 nurses in a room together in an area of the hospital that would not be in use during the storm (Price’s, for example, was placed in same-day surgery) and by rotating day or night shift, so only 2 nurses would be sleeping or resting in the room at a time. All in all, Price ended up working 7 days in row without a day off during the hurricane.

For Price, one of the hardest parts about working through the storm was the unpredictable nature of the hurricane itself. In contrast to her childhood experience with snowstorms, where she notes that at least there was also someone to dig you out, in a hurricane, there is really nothing you can do to protect yourself from it and really no way to know what you’re in for. Price said that it was very terrifying and challenging and she likes challenges. She is also proud of this experience.