Brandy Sensat
October 2021
Brandy
Sensat
,
RN
COVID Infusion Clinic
Lake Charles Memorial Health System
Lake Charles
,
LA
United States
Had Brandy not made the decision to come in midway through the day, this could have ended very differently for this husband and wife.
I wanted to take a moment and express my appreciation for Brandy Sensat. On Saturday night I had ZERO patients scheduled for the following day, Sunday. I contacted Brandy to let her know that she did not need to come in and work on what is typically a day off for her (something that no one has seemed to want to do- understandably so). We were told that we could take the day off. There was a possibility of referrals coming in through the night and in the morning for Sunday. Brandy and I agreed that I would check Sunday morning and we would reassess.
On Sunday morning, there were 2 referrals. I contacted Brandy and said that I could schedule them for Monday morning. At this point, she had already been told that she didn't need to work and could take the day off. SHE made the decision to have me check that morning and see if any referrals had come in, and SHE made the decision that the right thing to do would be contacting the patients to come in later that morning and receive the infusion and not delay care. While preparing for the 2 patients mentioned above, a referral came in for a 3rd one. Brandy again made the decision that we were there and should schedule the patient as soon as possible. This would delay our end time, but was the right thing to do. This patient was brought here by her husband who was himself very sick. He checked in our patient, who had physical and cognitive impairments from CVA and hip fx. While speaking with him it was discovered that he too was COVID positive and had been told to be seen in the ER. It turns out that his O2 saturation was in the high 70's while at rest. The husband was a very stoic man and explained that he was his wife's only caregiver. He stated that he had only come to the hospital today because she had needed to get the infusion. He made it clear that he was here for HER appointment and was not there for himself. He had to be assured and convinced that his wife would be taken care of while he was treated himself.
Had Brandy not made the decision to come in midway through the day, even after being told that she could take the day off AND to take an additional patient at a later time, this could have ended very differently for this husband and wife. She repeatedly said that it was the right thing to do.
The following day, Monday, she came in to do infusions last minute due to a scheduling error. Because she did, 7 patients received infusions on Monday, and no appointments needed to be rescheduled or canceled. (Again, this could have drastically changed things for the husband and wife patients who conceivably would not have come until Tuesday morning- if at all.) The numbers may be small, but in those 2 days, eleven patients (including the husband who was not a scheduled patient) received the care they needed because she made decisions multiple times based on what was, "the right thing to do." Brandy has been positive and a pleasure to work with giving infusions.
On Sunday morning, there were 2 referrals. I contacted Brandy and said that I could schedule them for Monday morning. At this point, she had already been told that she didn't need to work and could take the day off. SHE made the decision to have me check that morning and see if any referrals had come in, and SHE made the decision that the right thing to do would be contacting the patients to come in later that morning and receive the infusion and not delay care. While preparing for the 2 patients mentioned above, a referral came in for a 3rd one. Brandy again made the decision that we were there and should schedule the patient as soon as possible. This would delay our end time, but was the right thing to do. This patient was brought here by her husband who was himself very sick. He checked in our patient, who had physical and cognitive impairments from CVA and hip fx. While speaking with him it was discovered that he too was COVID positive and had been told to be seen in the ER. It turns out that his O2 saturation was in the high 70's while at rest. The husband was a very stoic man and explained that he was his wife's only caregiver. He stated that he had only come to the hospital today because she had needed to get the infusion. He made it clear that he was here for HER appointment and was not there for himself. He had to be assured and convinced that his wife would be taken care of while he was treated himself.
Had Brandy not made the decision to come in midway through the day, even after being told that she could take the day off AND to take an additional patient at a later time, this could have ended very differently for this husband and wife. She repeatedly said that it was the right thing to do.
The following day, Monday, she came in to do infusions last minute due to a scheduling error. Because she did, 7 patients received infusions on Monday, and no appointments needed to be rescheduled or canceled. (Again, this could have drastically changed things for the husband and wife patients who conceivably would not have come until Tuesday morning- if at all.) The numbers may be small, but in those 2 days, eleven patients (including the husband who was not a scheduled patient) received the care they needed because she made decisions multiple times based on what was, "the right thing to do." Brandy has been positive and a pleasure to work with giving infusions.