November 2012
Yvonne
Farrell
,
RN
MCICU
Legacy Emanuel Medical Center
Portland
,
OR
United States

 

 

 

Yvonne Farrell is an amazing RN. She comes to work with a smile on her face and an extremely positive attitude. The last week we had a very challenging patient on our unit. He was a 21 year old male who was developmentally delayed, autistic, and very fearful. When scared or unsure this patient, per his family, had a history of violence. The patient was also over six feet tall and weighed close to 400 pounds. This patient had come into our unit with sepsis and was intubated.

Yvonne was this patient's RN after he was extubated and she cared for him with utmost calm. Her approach to the patient and his family was so compassionate. She allowed the family to be at the bedside as much as possible. She explained everything she was doing or about to do, and she was able to control the generalized chaos of the ICU, by limiting the number of staff members that entered his room at any given time. In doing all these things, Yvonne was able to keep the patient calm and decrease his fear. In return the patient did what Yvonne requested. He got out of bed, and sat in a chair. He ambulated around the unit and he did not feel threatened or scared. She also helped facilitate a home health consult for the family and made sure that his transition home would be successful.