Working as a Case Manager, Kim Thomas always goes above and beyond. Kim answers phones, answers call bells, and supports the floor staff in any way they can. Kim always asks if there is anything more she can do to help.

Recently, Kim finished her rounds in the ICU and went on to her next assignment. We had a patient who was critically ill and required life-saving interventions from the medical and nursing staff. The Interventionist in the department said that the patient needed an immediate transfer to a tertiary facility for Interventional Radiology to stop her internal bleeding from her renal artery. Everyone in the department was involved in the care of the patient. We initiated the massive transfusion protocol, intubated the patient, and started vasopressors. I knew that we needed additional help and called Kim. The only thing that I said to her is “Kim we need help in the department right now”. I did not even explain what was happening. Kim immediately came to the department and quickly got up to speed. Kim determined what the wishes of the medical team were and began getting to work. This was quite the challenge. Due to an upgrade through the night, the phones were not working and calls kept getting dropped. Additionally, tertiary facilities were not able to accept the patient due to their census. Kim kept calling and used her personal cell phone to secure a bed and set up arrangements for an emergent transfer of the patient. The team was able to focus on the life-saving efforts needed and support the patient. Kim’s help was instrumental in obtaining a bed and getting the transport set up quickly to save this patient’s life. Without Kim’s assistance, there would have been one less person caring for the patient, and likely would have delayed the transfer