On December 1st, Joe was working an extra shift to cover the fast track area in Methodist ED. Early in his shift, Joe met an 83-year-old Italian speaking patient who had been seen in the ED a few days prior, after sustaining a fall on the uneven pavement. During the patient's first visit, a great deal of emphasis was placed on his face and head. As it turns out, he was carrying groceries, which prevented him from breaking his fall. He landed flat on his face, sustaining a depressed fracture of the nasal bones. After a negative head CT and a few sutures later, the patient was sent home to follow up with his family doctor.
Instead of doing that, he returned to the ED a few days later, saying something just wasn't right. After a quick assessment, and relying on his many years of ED experience, Joe was fairly certain that the patient had a significant issue with his arm, most likely a fracture.
Sure enough, the patient was diagnosed with a radial head fracture, splinted in the ED, and referred to the hand service. This was a huge deal for this 83-year-old gentleman and his wife, who were extremely anxious about the next step in his care. Not to mention that the patient was in excruciating pain.
Joe decided to take matters into his own hands and totally planned the patient's follow-up care. He called the Hand Center, worked it out with them to get the patient seen the same day, and then gathered all info for the hand service from the patient's PCP. This was no easy feat since the PCP office was not answering the phone. True to form of a resourceful ED nurse, Joe and his ED tech tracked down the PCP by cell phone. They asked the PCP to call his office and tell the staff to answer the phone for Joe. He also requested that the PCP tell them to get the needed info on the 83 year old gentleman. Joe followed up with a phone call to gather the info, and then called the hand center to ensure there would be no hitches for the patient. In the end, the patient left Methodist ED and went directly to the Hand Center for expert care, which was expedited by Joe Gedraitis.
Joe is a big guy, and his physical presence can be so misleading. He is the definition of a gentle giant. I had personally witnessed countless incidents when he went so far and above for a patient that I now consider it just his normal way. Recently at the funeral of our ED volunteer Sister Ann, all of the nuns seemed to know Joe. They related to me all of the wonderful stories Sister Ann told them about how Joe cared for her as a patient, and how she so often witnessed him being the ultimate patient advocate.
I am so proud to work with this amazing nurse. Joe Gedraitis truly deserves our respect and admiration; and the DAISY Award.