After an early morning procedure to implant a pacemaker, the discovery of an unanticipated complication, and two trips to interventional radiology, I awoke to find myself in a bed in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, exhausted, worried, and in pain. My nurse that first evening was caring, exceptionally thorough in assessments, anticipated my needs, offered a hand to hold and compassion along with outstanding clinical care. I thought this might be a one of a kind clinical nurse in the CICU, but found every nurse caring for me was just as clinically excellent and compassionate.
All these nurses delivered an exceptionally high standard of care, and all were either still in, or graduates of the UHC/AACN Post-Baccalaureate Nurse Residency Program. Each of them had a story to tell of moving from Arizona, Oregon, Kansas and various parts of Colorado to attend this program, learn and grow at our UCH Magnet Hospital and emphasizing it had 'changed their lives.' I felt privileged to receive such safe and extraordinary care from these dedicated UCH Clinical nurses; I am quite certain they are representative of all clinical nurses on the CICU!
Over my 11 days of hospitalization I was impressed not only with the exceptional level of nursing care but also of the Cardiology Residents and Attending and how closely the MDs and RNs worked together as a high-performance team. Interprofessional teamwork is difficult to build. On this unit, team communication was excellent and made a difference in my care. For example, one day I had 5 different consult teams visit, each with at least 3 to 6 persons per team, all communicating different plans. While I appreciated the many views and input, knowing there was a desire to ensure the best care, I was overwhelmed by the volumes of different experts visiting that day.
Staff have high praise for the leadership of Kelly McIntosh, CICU Nurse Manager, reporting she builds a positive culture and high expectations for staff performance and engagement, valuing all team members regardless of role.
I was so very impressed by how 'present' Kelly was with her staff and other team members. As I began to 'walk' the unit when my strength returned, I observed many informal situations where she stepped in to assist a busy nurse or clarify a communication with one of the many physicians in the care team station. One could tell how engaged and present she was, and how positively staff interacted with her!
Personally, Kelly was an anchor during my recovery. I was devastated by the complication that occurred during the pacemaker implant. It was a game changer for our family plans during the months of May and June, and for my health. I also experienced flashbacks, remembering the last time I was in the UCH CICU for 9 days, after experiencing a spontaneous dissection of the left coronary artery. My care required part of the artery to be cauterized in the Cath lab and a tenuous recovery, with MDs and my family wondering just how my recovery would or would not progress. I did progress, but from that time forward I experienced A-Fib, controlled by 3 beta blockers that led to bradycardia, ironically the reason I required a pacemaker. This latest complication was one more set back physically and emotionally that overwhelmed me at times. Kelly immediately understood my concerns. She rounded every day when at the hospital, listening to my anxiety regarding recovery, encouraging and helping me focus on positive actions toward wellness, an approach I needed to start moving forward versus getting stuck in the past. I encountered several situations where I was unable to speak up clearly for myself; Kelly stepped in to act as my advocate to help resolve these situations.
I just wanted you to know the high regard I hold for Kelly, from my observations and experience as a patient on the CICU. Her leadership and role modeling are clearly valued by the nursing, ancillary and MD staff, and creates such a positive atmosphere. I personally feel her interactions, compassion, encouragement, and actions were the support I needed to gain the strength and motivation to recover. I will be forever grateful for her help and care.
This is simply one example of the dedication, loyalty, passion and drives demonstrated by Kelly each day. I believe Kelly is a role model for the characteristics expected of a DAISY Award Honoree!