Chapter 37 - the first failure
The new system lasted eight months before something went wrong.
A high-risk patient named Danielle arrived at a rural hospital.
Her transfer was approved.
The receiving hospital accepted her.
But the ambulance was delayed.
Not because of insurance.
Not because of money.
There simply weren't enough emergency transport teams.
Danielle survived.
Her baby survived.
But she suffered complications.
Claire received the report at midnight.
She sat alone in her office.
She had wanted a perfect system.
There wasn't one.
The next morning, Claire met with the transport authority.
"We need more ambulances."
"We don't have the budget."
"Then we find one."
They looked at her.
Claire realized something.
She had spent years fighting corruption.
Now she had to fight scarcity.
That was harder.
There was no villain to punish.
No person to expose.
Only limited resources.
So Claire did something different.
She opened the foundation's books.
"We'll fund the first ten emergency maternal transport units."
Her financial director stared at her.
"That's forty million dollars."
"I know."
"Your father will approve."
Claire shook her head.
"This isn't about whether he approves."
May you like
She signed the authorization.
"It's about whether we can afford to wait."
