kathleen west, RN

We had an 82-year-old caller, with sudden onset of abdominal and back pain. This caller had a significant cardiac history. Kathleen recommended that the caller call 911 immediately. The caller thought it would be a better idea to have her son drive her to the fire station. Kathleen was gently persistent and again recommended the caller call 911. The caller had had recent dental surgery and thought her symptoms might be related to the codeine she was using, again, Kathleen recommended she call 911. She finally relented and called 911. It ended up that the caller had a dissecting aneurysm. If not attended to immediately, the mortality rate is high. Kathleen recognized the high acuity of this caller's history and symptoms and acted promptly to save this caller's life by her quick thinking. Several of the caller's doctors also passed along their thanks, "what a save" and "great nursing triage" and the patient was stabilized at a nearby hospital. "Without Kathleen's advice, we might have had a very different outcome!"