Elevator Exited On Wrong Floor

October 10, 2001

BALTIMORE, MD - What began as a perfectly normal day for Baltimore area resident James Harrington ended with him and authorities at City Hospital searching for answers to the events that unfolded.

Harrington, a longtime Baltimore resident and retired manager of a local dry cleaning establishment, began his day with a drive to see his physician for his regular six-month checkup. After parking in the hospital lot, he headed straight into the hospital since, as he reported afterwards, "I was almost ten minutes late for my appointment."

James Harrington

According to witnesses, he waited in the hospital lobby about six minutes for an elevator, since #3 was out of order that morning. When one finally arrived, he entered and quietly waited for his destination - the fifth floor.

Sadly, it was not to be.

Onlookers say Harrington exited the elevator when the doors opened on the fourth floor, immediately heading for the southwest wing of the hospital.

It wasn't until he arrived at the clinic itself that Harrington realized something was wrong.

"That was Oncology," says Harrington. "Not Cardiology!"

"I knew something was funny when I got off them elevators," he continues, "'cause the walls were green and they're usually blue. But I just figured maybe they painted 'em or somethin'."

Hurrying back to the elevators, he pressed the "up" button "four or five times" before the next elevator arrived, and, one floor later, he was finally at the right clinic - Cardiology.

Unfortunately, by then, he was more than thirty minutes late, and was forced to reschedule.

"I'm still not sure how this all happened. I've been coming to this hospital for forty years and I've never had to reschedule," said a clearly frustrated Harrington.

"They should make it more clear, have more signs or something."

Remember: Quality Without The Q Is Just Uality!