CHICAGO MED — “Cold Front” Episode 214 — Pictured: (l-r) S. Epatha Merkerson as Sharon Goodwin, Ato Essandoh as Isidore Latham, Colin Donnell as Connor Rhodes, Nick Gehlfuss as Will Halstead, Torrey DeVitto as Natalie Manning — (Photo by: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)

Name of the Episode: “Cold Front”

AirDate: Thursday, February 23

A major storm comes to Chicago which requires the assistance of firehouse 51. There are at least twelve vehicles involved in a pre-dawn collision. One vehicle bursts into flames and the driver is quickly pulled out and extinguished. Jeff is looking through a few cars looking for more victims and sees blood in the snow. The blood trail leads to a pregnant woman passed out near some trees. At the hospital, Sharon tells the staff they will need to make do with their supplies. Some of the staff has been snowed in and no medical supplies will be coming in. Upstairs, Dr. Rhodes is working on a patient when Dr. Latham stops the procedure. With the influx of trauma patients coming in, all operating rooms will be needed, the patient is stable enough to have the procedure done at another time. Once the patients begin coming in, Dr. Latham takes it upon himself to decide which patients have the best chance of survival verses those who should just be made comfortable and left alone. Dr. Choi doesn’t listen to orders and continues to work on his burn victim from the site. Mr. Winter pleads for them to contact his wife about his condition; while Dr. Latham is upset, the patient is still being treated.

More patients begin to come in and Jeff gives an update on the pregnant woman. She is 35 weeks pregnant and Dr. Wheeler takes charge. She doesn’t remember what happened, but the at least the baby’s heart beat is strong. The team is running around taking care of multiple patients and Connor goes to the pregnant woman’s room. She is suffering from an amniotic embolism caused by the collision. She has no pulse and they have only minutes to save her and the baby. Jeff and Connor deliver a healthy baby girl while they continue to work on her mother. They are able to regain a heart-beat, but she lost a lot of blood, she will need to be closely monitored. Dr. Choi has to tell Mr. Winter his organs will be shutting down soon because of the extreme burns. Mr. Winter only wants to stay alive long enough to say good bye to his wife. After the pregnant woman is taken up to be closed up, Dr. Wheeler stands in the room, in shock over the amount of blood. He also begins to feel guilty for not catching her diagnosis sooner because she did not present with any symptoms. The team is faced with a decision no one should have to make. With limited resources of blood for their patients, they have to decide between two cousins, who will get the last of a blood source. There is a possibility the boy without the blood donation, could die.

Connor tells Ethan they are in dire need of blood from their terminal patients. Ethan refuses to let his patient die before saying goodbye to his wife. He manually uses a bag to help Mr. Winter keep breathing; being in the war and seeing soldiers wanting to see a loved one before they died is all Ethan can envision. He sees a way to help a dying man and refuses everyone’s orders. Jason goes to talk with Reese about her transition to Psychiatry. Seems innocent, but he asks her to write a prescription for him to calm his nerves with how the day has progressed. She wouldn’t be able to write a prescription, she would need Dr. Charles’ approval first. Hearing that, Jason says to drop it and not to worry. The storm has made every situation a thousand times worse. One patient needed a Xanax refill, but with the number of patients coming in, he was pushed back to the waiting room. Dr. Charles tried to reassure the patient he would be taken care of, it was just going to take a little longer. Unfortunately, the patient left, and hours later, his brother called Dr. Charles to say his brother killed himself.

Dr. Charles is in such disbelief, he genuinely wanted to help, except the situation wouldn’t allow him to step away. To help their blood shortage, Natalie suggests starting a blood drive in the hospital for willing participants hoping to find a match for the two young boys. Across the room, Ethan is summoned to work in another room, but refuses to leave his patient. Mr. Winter sees the compassion and nods to give permission to stop helping him breath even though his wife was still on her way. He gets another chance to help a patient when he hears the blood donations need to go through lab work before being cleared. He is regularly screened for the Navy and he is a blood match for Benjamin’s survival. Sharon gives the approval and the transfusion is underway. Upstairs, Reese and Dr. Charles get a huge surprise. Security called them because a patient waltzed into a room and demanded to see Dr. Charles. The patient is Mr. Kellogg, the man screaming for his Xanax. He was the “brother” on the phone call, although Dr. Charles is relieved to see his patient alive, he is furious at the actions that were taken. Mr. Kellogg just earned himself a 72-hour psych hold, and still no medications.

At the end of the episode, Benjamin’s condition improves from the blood transfusion. His parents and cousin will all be okay. Mother and newborn daughter are reunited and are in good spirits. Mr. Winter’s wife finally makes it to the hospital to say goodbye to her husband. Dr. Latham was able to make quick decisions, clinically and not let his emotions get in the way. It’s something Connor admires about his colleague; and with the teamwork of Chicago Med, the right decisions were made and lives were saved.

On March 1^st, #OneChicago will be featured for a historic crossover event. Ripped from the headlines, civilians are trapped in a warehouse fire that will bring the city together. Be there when Fire, P.D., Med and introducing Chicago Justice air for the crossover event of the year.