Edith Rosalind Tina Linda

and Ruth Fletcher, Unit Secretary (also mentioned in nomination):

Had it not been for the critical thinking and the persistence of these four nurses, the outcome for this patient and family may have been devastating.

On 4/06/10, the NICU received a desperate telephone call. The woman calling asked to speak with Daniela or Yolanda. Neither was working. She then asked to speak with someone in Spanish. She verbalized that she had an emergency. Edith Legaspi who speaks some Spanish came to the phone to assist and was able to ascertain that the baby’s cardiac monitor was alarming and that the baby was blue in color. She directed the woman on the phone to call 911. The woman never identified herself before ending the call.

Concerned by the phone call, the nurses with the help of Ruth Fletcher, the unit secretary, checked the phone log and retrieved the number from which the call was placed. Rosalind Alvarez placed a call to a 911 operator and explained the unusual circumstances of the call and the concern of the NICU staff for the well being of the infant. She provided the phone number of the caller to the operator and remained on the line. The 911 service directed a Spanish speaking operator to contact the caller. Tina, Rosalind and Edith questioned which mother might have been calling. They asked Linda Stroumtsos, who sees patients in the Neonatal Clinic if she might know who it could be. She was able to match the phone number of the caller to the family through discharge information and was able to retrieve an address which was provided to the 911 operator. An ambulance and police could then be dispatched to the family’s home. The patient had indeed spent several months in the NICU and the nurses were well acquainted with the baby and family.

The four were even more upset and shared their disturbing call with other NICU staff. Everyone experienced this sense of despair, concerning about the baby and uncertain if the baby would be brought back to Saint Peter’s. All four nurses and the other NICU staff now waited anxiously for some news about this baby’s outcome. About 30 minutes later, an overhead page for “Respiratory STAT to Peds ED”, was announced. The manager and clinical coordinator went to the ED to see if it was indeed the former NICU patient. Not far behind them, both Tina and Rosalind responded to the page and were quickly involved in the care in the ED. The baby was in respiratory distress, experiencing apnea with duskiness and had tenacious secretions. Her temperature was well below 96 degrees. She was placed on a warming mattress, suctioned and placed on Nasal CPAP, then quickly transported to the NICU in a transport isolette. Upon arrival in the NICU, she was immediately intubated. Her chest X-ray was positive for pneumonia.

The father accompanied the infant to the ED and to the NICU. He spoke some English but received a thorough report via the Cyraphone. Despite Edith’s instructions to call 911, the father stated that the mother had never placed the call to 911.

These four extraordinary nurses and their unit secretary acted promptly to save this baby's life.