Erna Deocampo
February 2019
Erna
Deocampo
,
RN, BSN
Sentara Home Care Services - Norfolk Location
Chesapeake
,
VA
United States

 

 

 

Erna's love of her patients is evident in her daily interactions. She always follows her intuition when she feels that something is just not right. She followed her intuition with one of her patients who lived on the 18th floor of a high rise building that she had confirmed the time of her visit the night before. When the patient did not come to the door but could hear something in the apartment, she trusted her intuition and had the apartment staff open the apartment as she felt the patient may be in danger. When they opened the door, the apartment was full of smoke and the patient woke up when the staff and nurse arrived. There were burned materials in a tote bag, but no active fire. The patient suffers from narcolepsy and was getting ready to eat and fell asleep. Erna sat with the patient and assisted her with preparing food and discussed safety measures with the patient. The smoke alarm was not working so the apartment complex fixed the smoke detector and the physician was notified of the incident. Erna ensured the patient took her narcolepsy medications and the patient became more alert and awake. Because she was diligent in following up and followed her intuition, Erna was able to turn the situation into a positive one for the patient and the residents of the building.