Case: The Employee in the Corner

You are a supervisor in the housekeeping section of the facilities and maintenance department of

County Hospital. Your daily activities include a walking tour of all the sections of the facility within the responsibility of your team. Early afternoon found you walking along a short third-floor corridor that connected the hospital's surgical wing with one of the larger medical-surgical patient units. It was at a time when about half of the staff assigned to the two areas was still at lunch, and the angled corridor was empty. Or at least it appeared empty until you rounded the bend at the middle of the corridor. You then saw two people at the very end of the corridor in a corner beside the closed double doors that led into the surgical wing. You stopped in place when you saw the two people. They did not seem to be aware of your presence. At the distance you were from them you could tell that one was a woman.

Although you did not recognize her, you could tell she was wearing a hospital uniform. She appeared to be pinned tightly into the corner by the other party, apparently male, whom you could see only from behind. He did not appear to be wearing hospital clothing. As you hesitated before proceeding, you saw the man place his right forearm across the woman's throat. The woman struggled against the arm; you heard her curse and say, "No, leave me alone!" The man said something that you could not hear but his words apparently made the woman struggle harder.

Instructions

Describe in detail what you would do in this situation. For each decision or action you mention, explain why you are taking this particular step. (It is permissible for you to make a few reasonable assumptions about you and your circumstances, as long as you explain these.)