Amanda Otten
June 2020
Amanda
Otten
,
BSN, RN
Patient Logistics Center (PLC)
Valleywise Health Medical Center
Phoenix
,
AZ
United States

 

 

 

On Friday, a patient was in need of Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as a bridge to possible lung transplantation. The Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) attending, was looking to transfer this patient to an ECMO/transplant center. Amanda reached out to a nursing colleague and was referred to St. Joseph's Hospital by this contact. Very quickly, this patient was accepted for transfer by the St. Joseph's staff with the collaborative efforts facilitated by Amanda.
Upon completion of a "doc to doc" between Valleywise Health Medical Center and St. Joseph's Hospital, I was contacted by the ECMO/CT operating room staff and provided a large list of preparation equipment and requests for clinical staff to be on call for cannulation of this patient at the Medical Intensive Care Unit bedside. This call came in at approximately 14:30 with the planned arrival of the St. Joseph's ECMO staff at 15:30. As the bedside nurse for this patient, I called Amanda who came immediately to the MICU to coordinate these efforts. These requests included ensuring staffing for a cardiologist, an echocardiogram technician, an anesthesia provider, an x-ray technician with a portable x-ray machine, among others, were all available bedside within an hour. Additionally, specialized equipment that is not stocked in the MICU was sourced from several different departments of the hospital to ensure the needs for this patient's procedure would be met. Amanda ensured each request was fulfilled, all in time for their arrival. After cannulation of this patient, the computed tomography (CT) operating room providers approached me and complimented the staff of Valleywise Health Medical Center on the preparation of this procedure, especially with such short notice. They remarked that it was one of the smoothest preparations for transport ECMO they have done. All providers were ready for this patient's procedure and all equipment was available for the ECMO providers to complete their cannulation without delay. This would have not been possible without the great amount of assistance Amanda provided to me that afternoon.
Note: This is Amanda's 2nd DAISY Award!