What did I learn from the way the CEO handled my call?

Early in my career as a 26-year-old assistant administrator at a hospital, I was on administrative call for the weekend. Our hospital provided the only obstetric service for the county, and its three anesthesiologists and five certified registered nurse anesthetists took turns providing call coverage for the hospital. At that time, I was unaware that one of the anesthesiologists was abusing drugs and often would inform his colleagues that he was “sick” when he was scheduled to provide call coverage.
The weekend I was on administrative call, it was the drug-abusing anesthesiologist's turn to provide anesthesia call coverage. However, early that Saturday afternoon, he reported that he was unable to cover the hospital and one of his partners would have to do so instead.
His partners had all left town. Not one was available. The nursing shift supervisor was worried about having no anesthesia coverage for the hospital, which could have serious medical and legal implications.
When I received her call, I became alarmed and wondered what to do. I called the hospital CEO, explained the situation, and asked for his advice.
The CEO was a direct and trusting person who believed in delegating and having me take responsibility for my duties. He listened intently, and when I was done talking he said, “Fix it. Let me know Monday what you did.” Then he hung up.