Meredith Wiggers learned of a patient who was coming in for anesthesia and a CT. This patient’s parents reached out with the information that she was non-verbal, had anxiety/panic disorder, and had previously been in the emergency department three years prior. The prior experience was so difficult for this patient that she was unable to leave her house for eight months after the experience. This patient’s parents reached out before the CT to ensure that we could do everything possible to avoid a repeat experience. I knew that Meredith was the right person for the job…what follows is how Meredith responded to this challenge, how she listened to the family and provided the care they asked for, then went above and beyond to ensure the best possible care was given.
Compassionate Care:
Meredith worked with the parents and developed a plan of care that included texting pictures of herself and the PreOp room ahead of time so that the patient would know who and what to expect coming in. It was discussed that the stretcher itself would be concerning for the patient, so Meredith gathered up blankets to cover the wheels and sides to create a more stable environment (another concern of the patient) and even got a nice bedspread from L&D to make the experience feel more homey. She did many small things that were out of the ordinary to grant a better experience. She customized this patient's care by allowing her to pin her nametag to her hat, and keep some of her clothing on.
Clinical Skills:
Meredith worked with PACU and Imaging to provide care in places as much as possible. Instead of transporting the patient from prep, to imaging, to PACU, to recovery, she developed a plan with the other departments to have the patient do all (non-imaging) care in the same PreOp room. This allowed the patient to wake up where she was first sedated, decreasing the new surroundings. Meredith also took on the second stage recovery nurse role so that this patient had the same nurse during PreOp and Phase two recovery. This was calming for both the patient and her parents as the continuity of care ensured that all of the patient's concerns and individual needs were understood. Meredith discussed the family concerns about anxiety and the difficulty of getting an IV with the family and determined that having the patient get a shot of ketamine before the IV or any other care would also be a big benefit to help with sedation. She ensured that this order was in ahead of time to reduce any delays on the day of the procedure. She also worked with the family and lab to do all the PreOp labs in the morning in the PreOp room. This allowed the patient one less visit to the hospital/lab and once again reduced the amount of contact with the hospital. On the day when the patient arrived, Meredith communicated with the registration staff to ensure that the patient could be brought straight back into her room and wouldn’t have to wait in the lobby.
Exemplary Service:
At the end of the day, this patient could receive the care she needed in a manner that was safe and fit with her needs. On follow-up, the patient reported no adverse effects from her healthcare experience. Not only did Meredith establish a special connection with this family but she also made a significant impact on this patient's life.
Continued Commitment:
This whole situation represents what Meredith is all about. She looks to go above and beyond for all of her patients. She doesn’t sit idle in our department; instead, she finds others to help out. She doesn’t accept the status quo but questions the why, looking for ways to improve our department and the care of our patients. As her manager, I appreciate that she will challenge the department and our leadership team to ensure that our vision always includes what is in the patient's best interests.