Aubrey Anderson
October 2014
Aubrey
Anderson
,
RN
Older Adult Unit
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services
Grand Rapids
,
MI
United States
Tonight, our Charge RN, Aubrey Anderson, showed all of the qualities one would want in an RN taking care of their loved one. The shift was going as per usual. It was busy but manageable. Then after supper the power went out. Aubrey immediately gathered up the other RNs on the floor and the other key support staff and began to review a plan for an emergency. She located the tornado safe areas and gave us very specific instructions on what to do if we needed to transport all of the patients to those areas. Thankfully nothing happened, but it was great that she saw to it that we knew what to do ahead of time.
Later in the shift while the power was still down an admission showed up. Since all of the treatment rooms were completely dark she set up a mini office in our sally port in order to safely complete the admission in the most confidential location we had before taking the patient and her family onto the floor. Because the power was down the Contact Center staff came over to meet with the family. Due to high acuity in the COA I was the only PCP on the floor and was very busy during this time helping other patients. While she stepped out to let the Contact Center staff interview the admission she heard a patient calling for help. He had a large incontinent BM. She asked me for some towels and told me she would clean it up. By the time I was able to finish other tasks and come back to the room she had cleaned up the patient and his bathroom, dressed him for sleeping and was escorting him out of the bathroom to his bed. She then left, went back and finished the admission. The patient was slated to go into a bed in our COA. She escorted her and her family back to the COA and stayed with them until they all decided it was an improper fit. The daughter expressed her relief to me that Aubrey had made that decision.
The rest of the shift she assisted us with putting out the many little "fires" that come with the nature of our unit, which was heightened by the lack of light in many of the bedrooms, bathrooms, and no TV for the patients to watch. She showed excellence in her nursing abilities and her compassion for the patients, their families and her co-workers.
Later in the shift while the power was still down an admission showed up. Since all of the treatment rooms were completely dark she set up a mini office in our sally port in order to safely complete the admission in the most confidential location we had before taking the patient and her family onto the floor. Because the power was down the Contact Center staff came over to meet with the family. Due to high acuity in the COA I was the only PCP on the floor and was very busy during this time helping other patients. While she stepped out to let the Contact Center staff interview the admission she heard a patient calling for help. He had a large incontinent BM. She asked me for some towels and told me she would clean it up. By the time I was able to finish other tasks and come back to the room she had cleaned up the patient and his bathroom, dressed him for sleeping and was escorting him out of the bathroom to his bed. She then left, went back and finished the admission. The patient was slated to go into a bed in our COA. She escorted her and her family back to the COA and stayed with them until they all decided it was an improper fit. The daughter expressed her relief to me that Aubrey had made that decision.
The rest of the shift she assisted us with putting out the many little "fires" that come with the nature of our unit, which was heightened by the lack of light in many of the bedrooms, bathrooms, and no TV for the patients to watch. She showed excellence in her nursing abilities and her compassion for the patients, their families and her co-workers.