Samantha Edgington
November 2024
Samantha
Edgington
,
RN
Emergency Department
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Madison
Madison
,
WI
United States
Because of Sam’s compassion and dedication to her patients this patient was able to donate the gifts of liver, kidneys, tissues, and corneas.
I had the great privilege of working with RN Sam Edington. She works in the Emergency Department and received a patient right at the end of her shift tonight. She called the referral in right away and anticipated the OPO would need to be alerted ASAP. The patient had a devastating head bleed, and Sam and the neurosurgeon (Dr. L) started conversations about the devastating prognosis with the family.
Through these conversations, organ donation was brought up and the seed was planed so beautifully by Sam. She had the foresight to confirm mom’s number prior to her departure from the hospital and let her know that OPO would likely be calling her with next steps tonight. She advocated for getting this patient admitted for the purposes of organ donation at SSM St. Mary’s and it worked.
Speaking to her, it was very apparent that her conversations with her family had been very honest and compassionate. She was very knowledgeable about not only the patient's changing condition but also kept a pulse on a quickly evolving admission. The referral came in right before 1900. She offered to stay with the patient until they were transferred to the ICU and safely handed off to the next RN. She assured us that she was also staying so that she could be involved in any further calls/plans/conversations that needed to happen to keep the continuity of care and the opportunity for donation alive.
I can appreciate that after a long day, volunteering to stay longer to facilitate family conversations is not something that many healthcare workers would be willing to do!
I want her to know how touched I was by our brief interaction tonight and how much she stood out as an exceptional member of the team! She needs to hear how much we appreciate partnering with RNs like her to help facilitate the best-case scenario in a terrible situation.
Because of Sam’s compassion and dedication to her patients this patient was able to donate the gifts of liver, kidneys, tissues, and corneas. I am thankful for Sam’s leadership in the ED and support our mission in providing exceptional care.
Through these conversations, organ donation was brought up and the seed was planed so beautifully by Sam. She had the foresight to confirm mom’s number prior to her departure from the hospital and let her know that OPO would likely be calling her with next steps tonight. She advocated for getting this patient admitted for the purposes of organ donation at SSM St. Mary’s and it worked.
Speaking to her, it was very apparent that her conversations with her family had been very honest and compassionate. She was very knowledgeable about not only the patient's changing condition but also kept a pulse on a quickly evolving admission. The referral came in right before 1900. She offered to stay with the patient until they were transferred to the ICU and safely handed off to the next RN. She assured us that she was also staying so that she could be involved in any further calls/plans/conversations that needed to happen to keep the continuity of care and the opportunity for donation alive.
I can appreciate that after a long day, volunteering to stay longer to facilitate family conversations is not something that many healthcare workers would be willing to do!
I want her to know how touched I was by our brief interaction tonight and how much she stood out as an exceptional member of the team! She needs to hear how much we appreciate partnering with RNs like her to help facilitate the best-case scenario in a terrible situation.
Because of Sam’s compassion and dedication to her patients this patient was able to donate the gifts of liver, kidneys, tissues, and corneas. I am thankful for Sam’s leadership in the ED and support our mission in providing exceptional care.