The Mrs. Hufnagel Chronicles, Part 8

Elliott has a run-in with Mrs. Hufnagel during his first solo night in charge of the ward.

Dr. Elliott Axelrod (Stephen Furst) backs into trouble
in the form of Mrs. Hufnagel (Florence Halop).

After appearing in longer scenes in her previous three episodes, Mrs. Hufnagel (Florence Halop) plays a supporting role in her brief appearance in "Homecoming". Dr. Elliott Axelrod (Stephen Furst) is a first-year resident, and this night is the first where he is the only doctor on call. Axelrod is nervous about being in charge for the first time, but after a reassuring conversation with Dr. Bobby Caldwell (Mark Harmon), he takes command of the ward, and that's where our clip begins.

Axelrod tries to chat up the non-doctor staff working on the floor, who don't exactly respond to the man in charge, but his attempts at fraternization are interrupted when he absentmindedly backs into Mrs. Hufnagel, who is turning the corner in a wheelchair, in search of ice. When she asks him to go fetch it for her, Elliott lays down the law, giving her a little extra encouragement as he orders her back to her room.

Right after this scene, things get serious when an old guy codes. As Mrs. Hufnagel said, people check into St. Eligius, but they don't check out (although Elliott ends up saving this guy, and handling himself quite well in the emergency situation). I don't know if anyone has ever counted it, but I wonder if St. Elsewhere had the highest patient mortality rate of any medical TV series.