Creep of the Week - May 23, 1998
15-year-old Christopher Sercye ran into a whole pack of those Follow-The-Rules idiots this week when he was shot by gang members while playing basketball about 30 feet from the entrance of Ravenswood Hospital in Chicago. Christopher's friends, thinking "If you have to get shot, it's pretty lucky to get shot next to a hospital," managed to drag him to within a few feet of the hospital's entrance and then ran inside seeking help. What do you suppose the emergency room workers did? They set down their stretchers and CPR units so they could qualify for the Good Sheep Hall of Fame by CONSULTING THE RULE BOOK!! "Hmm, let's see, there's a young boy bleeding to death right outside the door, we had our last cigarette break 15 minutes ago, it's after 10PM, the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter is aligned with Mars ... nope, sorry can't help you. Next!" Citing the Rules, they refused to go outside to help Christopher.
Then a cop, who had also tried unsuccessfully to move Christopher, pleaded with the hospital workers to come outside, but was met with the same blockheaded wall of silence. They did offer to call 911 so an ambulance could arrive and carry Christopher the rest of the way into the hospital. That's the procedure, officer. After 20 minutes of waiting, the cop commandeered a wheelchair and brought Christopher in himself. But it was too late - Christopher was dead.
So now what? Do you think the Ravenswood administration, outraged that such an abomination could happen at their institution, caused some of those empty heads to roll? Think again. Hospital spokeswoman Milli Striegl sniffed that Ravenswood is not a trauma center and staffers do not leave their duties to treat anyone outside. "Everything was done that should be done,'' she said. The sad thing is that for people of Milli's intellect, that says it all. The Almighty Rules triumphed! The system worked! If a few innocent people have to die for the sake of the Rule Book, so be it. Milli probably celebrated with a glass of champagne and slept like a baby that night.
The hospital's president and chief executive officer, John E. Blair, pictured above, realized (because unlike his employees, he has the ability to think for himself) he had a PR disaster here. In Solomon-like tones, he pronounced: "I have instructed my staff to provide treatment to anyone who needs it in the immediate vicinity of the hospital when there are no paramedics or medical technicians available." Type that up and insert it in the rule book, Milli. Ravenswood's policy on hiring people who actually have brains containing active thought processes is still being reviewed.
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