Debbie Lacalamito
June 2013
Debbie
Lacalamito
,
RN
Care Management
Winter Haven Hospital
Winter Haven
,
FL
United States
We recently had a patient in our hospital from November to March with only a day or two break between her 3 admissions. She was a 47-year old lady on disability for deformed feet. She had continued to walk on them this way and had developed ulcers. She had tremendous pain from the ulcers. She had been in numerous hospitals and had exhausted her Medicaid benefit for the year before her first admission here. She was addicted to pain medicine.
Debbie was her Care Manager and was determined to help her. The patient finally agreed to have her leg amputated. Debbie was instrumental in having a pain management physician involved prior to the surgery. When this didn't work as well as planned, she got the primary MD to order Palliative Care for pain management and this truly made a difference. They were able to get the patient on a pain protocol that managed the pain but also allowed her to be alert and oriented.
Debbie knew that the patient was not going to qualify for a SNF and that she had been turned down by Joy Fuller Rehab. She got administration to agree to put this patient on Swann 6 where a therapist is available every day.
Debbie continued to follow the patient on Swann 6 to make sure she was getting out of bed and ambulating. She worked closely with the doctor on the wound care. She made sure the patient had a primary MD appt. that she could get to when she was discharged. (This patient had never seen her primary MD in the past.) Debbie worked closely with the social worker to make sure the patient had the appropriate equipment so that her daughter could manage her at home.
This case took great team work but Debbie was the patient's biggest cheerleader!
Today, Debbie received a picture and text message from the doctor. The patient was there for her appointment and was sitting in the chair smiling. Her daughter came to visit from New York during the end of her hospital stay and told us that her mother was so blessed to have come to this hospital and to have people like Debbie and our staff that had been so dedicated and cared so much. She said her mother had never received such care before and had basically been thrown away. She was so thankful.
Debbie was her Care Manager and was determined to help her. The patient finally agreed to have her leg amputated. Debbie was instrumental in having a pain management physician involved prior to the surgery. When this didn't work as well as planned, she got the primary MD to order Palliative Care for pain management and this truly made a difference. They were able to get the patient on a pain protocol that managed the pain but also allowed her to be alert and oriented.
Debbie knew that the patient was not going to qualify for a SNF and that she had been turned down by Joy Fuller Rehab. She got administration to agree to put this patient on Swann 6 where a therapist is available every day.
Debbie continued to follow the patient on Swann 6 to make sure she was getting out of bed and ambulating. She worked closely with the doctor on the wound care. She made sure the patient had a primary MD appt. that she could get to when she was discharged. (This patient had never seen her primary MD in the past.) Debbie worked closely with the social worker to make sure the patient had the appropriate equipment so that her daughter could manage her at home.
This case took great team work but Debbie was the patient's biggest cheerleader!
Today, Debbie received a picture and text message from the doctor. The patient was there for her appointment and was sitting in the chair smiling. Her daughter came to visit from New York during the end of her hospital stay and told us that her mother was so blessed to have come to this hospital and to have people like Debbie and our staff that had been so dedicated and cared so much. She said her mother had never received such care before and had basically been thrown away. She was so thankful.