K.C. is a 22-year-old female who was involved in a high-speed motor vehicle accident in which her vehicle was t-boned at high speed by a tow truck. She was life-flighted from the crash scene to MMC as Level 1 Trauma with multiple life-threatening injuries. Of the injuries, the most significant was a traumatic brain injury prompting enrollment into BOOST3 study. BOOST3 is a multicenter randomized, blinded-endpoint comparative effectiveness study of goal-directed critical care based on monitoring of brain tissue oxygen and intracranial pressure versus monitoring of intracranial pressure alone with severe traumatic brain injury. In essence, an extremely high acuity patient, enrolled in a study requiring professional nurses equipped to technically manage the medical plan while communicating with 3 different services (Surgical Critical Care, Neuro Surgery, and the BOOST3 team), as well as operate specialized research equipment and chart in two separate systems.

Over a 4 day period, Chelsea was the consistent person the family interacted with. Her actions and professionalism left the family with the first impressions of Maine Medical Center and the Neuro ICU team. They saw the clinician working tirelessly to keep their loved one supported and witnessed the technical skills of this highly trained nurse. There’s no doubt that Chelsea is a skilled clinician, but what really impressed her peers and prompted them to nominate her for a DAISY Award was how incredibly she took care of and advocated for not only the patient but for the family. Chelsea’s experience and time management skills allowed her to not only care for the patient but also for the family. 

Chelsea called and emailed multiple departments in an attempt to find the patients lost wedding ring. She saved locks of hair for the family – after having to shave K.C.’s head. She sat at the bedside with a nail care kit and meticulously removed all the blood and grime from the patient’s fingernails. She physically comforted family members by holding their hands while receiving difficult information from the providers. Chelsea shared her nursing experience with the family on what to expect with TBI.

Chelsea’s professionalism was evident when advocating for the patient and family. Counseling the family, bringing conversations back to what K.C. would want long term. Educating the family: Sat down with family and went through CT scans, showed stroke areas and bleed areas, described every nursing intervention, every beeping pump, and monitor. The family listened to her confidently explain all of her actions to her orientee. Every moment spent with the family allowed them to better understand the situation and make informed decisions. Chelsea coordinated ongoing meetings to keep the family informed, arranging the different services involved to meet with the family so they could get clarification. Made phone calls and sent emails to get the family set up with mychart on a weekend. Initiated Child life consult as a resource to the family. Connected the family with community support resources for families in this kind of situation.

Chelsea is a skilled clinician and compassionate caregiver. During her time with this patient and family, she demonstrated Maine Medical Center’s core values and built a trusting relationship with the family. Her experience and skill allowed her to give the patient’s family comfort and knowledge to make the best decisions they could. Chelsea is an excellent example of the Profession of Nursing at Maine Medical Center. We’re all proud to be working with her and have her represent the NeuroCritical Care team.