March 2023
BJ
Battista
,
BSN, RN, CNOR
Surgery / OR
Seattle Children's Hospital
Seattle
,
WA
United States
He always models and champions safety first - and demonstrates time and time again - safe care and efficiency are two sides of the same coin. If it's 2 am and we have to take a sick patient back to the OR, there’s nobody I’d rather be working with.
The Anesthesiology department would like to recognize BJ for his outstanding contributions to patient care in the OR. He is a rock of dependability and clinical excellence in an environment that is high-pressure and intense. He works weekend nights when support is limited and has done so for many years. He is one of those staff members that truly is "indispensable".
***
I wholeheartedly agree with this overdue collective acknowledgment of BJ's leadership and partnership in our perioperative care at Seattle Children's.
Ever since my first call as an attending in 2017, whenever BJ is on call with me, I have felt like I had a partner who was wise and knowledgeable about the diverse cases we see, situational awareness of levels of anesthetic concerns, and resource mobilization. He decreases the burden of thought processes that we have to make as anesthesiologists on call when different levels of cases come in and even when we have non-OR anesthesia stats. I am really grateful that we have BJ on our team.
***
BJ is hands down the best OR RN I’ve ever worked with, the very definition of professionalism, and always has superb judgment. He is a leader when he needs to be, a follower when the situation dictates but always the glue that sticks the team together. He is definitely a force multiplier, his knowledge of how the hospital actually works is second to none. Not just the OR also our main feeder unit at night - the ED! He literally has spider senses of cases that are likely to get booked, that anticipation means the night team is rarely caught flat-footed. He always models and champions safety first - and demonstrates time and time again - safe care and efficiency are two sides of the same coin. If it's 2 am and we have to take a sick patient back to the OR, there’s nobody I’d rather be working with.
***
The very best, indeed! And that goes back 10+ years! Unparalleled situational awareness! I recall a call night long ago when I was still in the GOR call group and we were taking call from home. I got a call from BJ on my cell phone when I was already at home in bed “Hey, A, there seems to be some commotion in the ICU and I just saw them taking the difficult airway cart, I thought you might want to come in.” So, I was able to step into the patient’s room as the ICU attending was announcing “can somebody call anesthesia?”
***
Love this very well-deserved callout of BJ! Anyone who takes weekend GOR call knows just how important he is to the smooth functioning of our operating room during a vulnerable time of the week. He’s one of the *very best* OR nurses with whom I’ve ever worked—it’s a privilege to do so.
***
I would like to join everyone’s words about BJ. I always feel supported when BJ is on call. As said by others, he always put patients first and prioritizes safety before anything else. I had very difficult calls that went smoothly thanks to BJ’s calm, support, and knowledge of the OR flow.
***
Thank you for this email acknowledging BJs priceless contribution to patient care on the weekends. As a new attending in the system, he made a huge difference to my anxiety levels on those first few months of night call in a new environment. His familiarity with the flow, rules, team spirit, and most importantly his unflappability is priceless.
***
I have worked with BJ ever since he joined Children’s more than a decade ago. He has always been a pleasure to work with and is one of the reasons I look forward to working at night. He is well organized, cares a lot for the patients, and is a team player. He is an excellent leader for the night crew. BJ will go all out and even assist the anesthesia team even if it’s not strictly his role if it’s for the patients' benefit. He knows how the system works at SCH at night and how to navigate the pitfalls of night duty. We are lucky to have had him working nights for over a decade and he is an asset to the institution.
***
Please take the time and effort to acknowledge and reward BJ Battista for his EXTRAORDINARY contributions to patient survival and coordination of care in the most extreme situations and challenging patient conditions. I personally have been involved in stacked Level A cases where BJ has brought patients from the ED to the OR because we literally had no other way to make that happen. I’m aware he has recently done this for my colleagues as well. It has been my experience since working with BJ for many years now, that no matter what happens or who rolls through those doors, if BJ is working, I will have the support I need and a “let’s-make-it-happen” and “you can count on me” attitude. I don’t know anyone else that I work with that surpasses his extraordinary collaborative effectiveness and coordination of care. My most recent example of BJ’s accountability for making excellence possible was a couple of weeks ago when we had an emergent tonsillectomy with a patient who had severe OSA and an unexpected anaphylactoid reaction to rocuronium with induction. Prior to this patient arriving in the ED and shortly thereafter in the OR, we had a level A craniotomy and a severe dog bite to the face with another patient both running in ORs and requiring significant perioperative staff support. BJ heard about the level A and understood the urgency given the extent of blood loss occurring in the ED. With all resources maxed out, he still found a way to get the patient to the OR safely while ensuring everyone else had what they needed. He then helped manage the lifesaving challenges that immediately ensued after inducing this patient with a bleeding airway who then had a drug reaction during induction. Complete chaos, but BJ knew where to be and what to do immediately and thereafter. The extent to which BJ consistently delivers at this level needs to be acknowledged and I invite my colleagues to also share their stories here so that BJ and his supervisor can adequately convey our gratitude for him.
***
I wholeheartedly agree with this overdue collective acknowledgment of BJ's leadership and partnership in our perioperative care at Seattle Children's.
Ever since my first call as an attending in 2017, whenever BJ is on call with me, I have felt like I had a partner who was wise and knowledgeable about the diverse cases we see, situational awareness of levels of anesthetic concerns, and resource mobilization. He decreases the burden of thought processes that we have to make as anesthesiologists on call when different levels of cases come in and even when we have non-OR anesthesia stats. I am really grateful that we have BJ on our team.
***
BJ is hands down the best OR RN I’ve ever worked with, the very definition of professionalism, and always has superb judgment. He is a leader when he needs to be, a follower when the situation dictates but always the glue that sticks the team together. He is definitely a force multiplier, his knowledge of how the hospital actually works is second to none. Not just the OR also our main feeder unit at night - the ED! He literally has spider senses of cases that are likely to get booked, that anticipation means the night team is rarely caught flat-footed. He always models and champions safety first - and demonstrates time and time again - safe care and efficiency are two sides of the same coin. If it's 2 am and we have to take a sick patient back to the OR, there’s nobody I’d rather be working with.
***
The very best, indeed! And that goes back 10+ years! Unparalleled situational awareness! I recall a call night long ago when I was still in the GOR call group and we were taking call from home. I got a call from BJ on my cell phone when I was already at home in bed “Hey, A, there seems to be some commotion in the ICU and I just saw them taking the difficult airway cart, I thought you might want to come in.” So, I was able to step into the patient’s room as the ICU attending was announcing “can somebody call anesthesia?”
***
Love this very well-deserved callout of BJ! Anyone who takes weekend GOR call knows just how important he is to the smooth functioning of our operating room during a vulnerable time of the week. He’s one of the *very best* OR nurses with whom I’ve ever worked—it’s a privilege to do so.
***
I would like to join everyone’s words about BJ. I always feel supported when BJ is on call. As said by others, he always put patients first and prioritizes safety before anything else. I had very difficult calls that went smoothly thanks to BJ’s calm, support, and knowledge of the OR flow.
***
Thank you for this email acknowledging BJs priceless contribution to patient care on the weekends. As a new attending in the system, he made a huge difference to my anxiety levels on those first few months of night call in a new environment. His familiarity with the flow, rules, team spirit, and most importantly his unflappability is priceless.
***
I have worked with BJ ever since he joined Children’s more than a decade ago. He has always been a pleasure to work with and is one of the reasons I look forward to working at night. He is well organized, cares a lot for the patients, and is a team player. He is an excellent leader for the night crew. BJ will go all out and even assist the anesthesia team even if it’s not strictly his role if it’s for the patients' benefit. He knows how the system works at SCH at night and how to navigate the pitfalls of night duty. We are lucky to have had him working nights for over a decade and he is an asset to the institution.
***
Please take the time and effort to acknowledge and reward BJ Battista for his EXTRAORDINARY contributions to patient survival and coordination of care in the most extreme situations and challenging patient conditions. I personally have been involved in stacked Level A cases where BJ has brought patients from the ED to the OR because we literally had no other way to make that happen. I’m aware he has recently done this for my colleagues as well. It has been my experience since working with BJ for many years now, that no matter what happens or who rolls through those doors, if BJ is working, I will have the support I need and a “let’s-make-it-happen” and “you can count on me” attitude. I don’t know anyone else that I work with that surpasses his extraordinary collaborative effectiveness and coordination of care. My most recent example of BJ’s accountability for making excellence possible was a couple of weeks ago when we had an emergent tonsillectomy with a patient who had severe OSA and an unexpected anaphylactoid reaction to rocuronium with induction. Prior to this patient arriving in the ED and shortly thereafter in the OR, we had a level A craniotomy and a severe dog bite to the face with another patient both running in ORs and requiring significant perioperative staff support. BJ heard about the level A and understood the urgency given the extent of blood loss occurring in the ED. With all resources maxed out, he still found a way to get the patient to the OR safely while ensuring everyone else had what they needed. He then helped manage the lifesaving challenges that immediately ensued after inducing this patient with a bleeding airway who then had a drug reaction during induction. Complete chaos, but BJ knew where to be and what to do immediately and thereafter. The extent to which BJ consistently delivers at this level needs to be acknowledged and I invite my colleagues to also share their stories here so that BJ and his supervisor can adequately convey our gratitude for him.