Diane
Bollas
November 2011
Diane
Bollas
,
RN
ED
Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital
West Bloomfield
,
MI
Recently Ms. J, a 40 year old woman, drove herself to the emergency department with a
complaint of abdominal pain and vomiting that had started the day before. As soon as she arrived in the ED, the ED team began her care. Upon further exam and questioning, Ms. J revealed that she had begun vomiting blood that morning. Diane Bollas was the primary nurse assigned to her. Ms. J remembered Diane explaining to her that they needed to work expeditiously because of her serious condition. While Diane was doing the tasks she needed to do, Ms. J stated, “she was asking about my family, my boyfriend and my son. She included all of them. I felt so comfortable and safe with her, as if she is my true mother taking care of me.”
Ms. J’s condition deteriorated very quickly after her arrival to the hospital. She vomited liters of bright red blood and became unresponsive and hypotensive. She did not understand at first, why Diane was so insistent on getting her family to come to the emergency department and why she was calling for assistance from the other nurses and techs. “I felt very special and thinking to myself, I love this place. I did not realize I was in real trouble.” Diane was able to get the necessary care for Ms. J expeditiously. She was able to relay the seriousness of her condition to endoscopy, who graciously moved her case to first priority, moving scheduled patients off the table. The best part of the situation, was that Ms. J’s whole family arrived, and were able to give her a kiss, and say “I love you” before she was whisked away to endoscopy and ultimately to ICU. It was because of Diane’s insistence that they made it on time.
Three days later, Ms. J called down to the Emergency Department to talk to Diane. She was very appreciative of the care she received and let her know that she was better and was being transferred to the medical floor. For a patient to call the ED and inform the nurse who cared for her about her progress rarely happens. For a nurse to make such a personal connection in such a profoundly short period of time is special, especially a patient who is experiencing a life threatening event. Often nurses in these situations are focused on calling orders, starting IVs and transferring the patients out of the ED to areas of definitive care. Sometimes they are so focused on saving a life, they forget to hold a hand or hug the family. Not Diane.
Ms. J came back to the emergency room for another medical problem on November 2. She was still raving about her care in the emergency department. She stated, “There are no words I can find to express my gratitude to everyone for what they did for me, especially Diane. She gave me a kiss on my forehead and told me, I am watching you, before she left me in endoscopy. I cannot express how thankful I am for that. Even my whole family could not say enough to thank her.”
Diane, with her excellent medical knowledge, was able to recognize a true medical emergency. She anticipated a potential negative outcome if medical interventions were not initiated immediately upon Ms. J’s arrival. Ms. J’s immediate resuscitation when she lost consciousness and became hypotensive, was also due to the efforts of Diane’s diligence to get the necessary attention from the physician and the ability to anticipate her patient’s needs.
At the end of Ms. J’s November 2nd visit, she stated, “Please tell Diane and everyone in the emergency department “Thank you for saving my life. I am their walking MIRACLE”.
complaint of abdominal pain and vomiting that had started the day before. As soon as she arrived in the ED, the ED team began her care. Upon further exam and questioning, Ms. J revealed that she had begun vomiting blood that morning. Diane Bollas was the primary nurse assigned to her. Ms. J remembered Diane explaining to her that they needed to work expeditiously because of her serious condition. While Diane was doing the tasks she needed to do, Ms. J stated, “she was asking about my family, my boyfriend and my son. She included all of them. I felt so comfortable and safe with her, as if she is my true mother taking care of me.”
Ms. J’s condition deteriorated very quickly after her arrival to the hospital. She vomited liters of bright red blood and became unresponsive and hypotensive. She did not understand at first, why Diane was so insistent on getting her family to come to the emergency department and why she was calling for assistance from the other nurses and techs. “I felt very special and thinking to myself, I love this place. I did not realize I was in real trouble.” Diane was able to get the necessary care for Ms. J expeditiously. She was able to relay the seriousness of her condition to endoscopy, who graciously moved her case to first priority, moving scheduled patients off the table. The best part of the situation, was that Ms. J’s whole family arrived, and were able to give her a kiss, and say “I love you” before she was whisked away to endoscopy and ultimately to ICU. It was because of Diane’s insistence that they made it on time.
Three days later, Ms. J called down to the Emergency Department to talk to Diane. She was very appreciative of the care she received and let her know that she was better and was being transferred to the medical floor. For a patient to call the ED and inform the nurse who cared for her about her progress rarely happens. For a nurse to make such a personal connection in such a profoundly short period of time is special, especially a patient who is experiencing a life threatening event. Often nurses in these situations are focused on calling orders, starting IVs and transferring the patients out of the ED to areas of definitive care. Sometimes they are so focused on saving a life, they forget to hold a hand or hug the family. Not Diane.
Ms. J came back to the emergency room for another medical problem on November 2. She was still raving about her care in the emergency department. She stated, “There are no words I can find to express my gratitude to everyone for what they did for me, especially Diane. She gave me a kiss on my forehead and told me, I am watching you, before she left me in endoscopy. I cannot express how thankful I am for that. Even my whole family could not say enough to thank her.”
Diane, with her excellent medical knowledge, was able to recognize a true medical emergency. She anticipated a potential negative outcome if medical interventions were not initiated immediately upon Ms. J’s arrival. Ms. J’s immediate resuscitation when she lost consciousness and became hypotensive, was also due to the efforts of Diane’s diligence to get the necessary attention from the physician and the ability to anticipate her patient’s needs.
At the end of Ms. J’s November 2nd visit, she stated, “Please tell Diane and everyone in the emergency department “Thank you for saving my life. I am their walking MIRACLE”.