Todd
Johnson
February 2012
Todd
Johnson
,
RN
Emergency Unit
St. Louis Children's Hospital
St. Louis
,
MO
United States

 

 

 

Todd was critical in saving the life of a patient who was a victim of physical abuse. Todd was the triage nurse when a young boy was brought in for possible hand foot and mouth disease. During his initial assessment, Todd noticed that the boy had multiple abusive loop marks and abrasions on his body and areas of missing hair. Todd was suspicious of abuse. The patient and his mother left without being seen. Todd alerted physicians and social work that the family had left and helped notify child protective services. The patient was brought back to the ER by police and serious physical abuse was diagnosed. The boy is now removed from his family and safe. Because Todd did a careful and thorough assessment and then took ownership and worked with his partners in the EU, this patient was saved.



Todd's action led to creating safe care for this patient. He showed exceptional service by notifying his co-workers that the patient had been taken from the EU, and helping to facilitate his safe return.