One of the most important things the house supervisors do is make the staff feel appreciated, keeping our patient and their family members safe. I received a call from Dr. H regarding a patient in room 5W ICU who wanted her to call "Administration" as well as the "Risk Management". I asked Dr. H if she could give me information on the situation and I would try to help her before calling other people. She explained to me that the family members of 5W ICU were very adamant about having the patient transferred out to Cedars Sinai Hospital. The daughter told her that her mother was not going to stay in this ''COUNTY HOSPITAL" and that she deserved better treatment. I told Dr. H that I will get back to her because I was in the middle of code blue recording.
Prior to getting back to Dr. H, I did my research regarding the patient's insurance and I found out that the patient had Kaiser Insurance. I spoke to Dr. H right away and gave her all the insurance information and phone number to call for an approval. I explained to her that MD to MD conference needed to be done first. Then after talking to Dr. H, I received a call from Maria Isabel Felix, RN, regarding the family members of the same patient and I explained the same process with her. I told Isabel that as soon as I'm done with the code, I will come up. Dr. H explained to the family that the patient is not stable enough to be transferred out and that Kaiser had not approve moving the patient to Cedars and the family understood. Maria Isabel Felix took care of the patient and the family members on that day.
The following day the above patient was placed on 1:1 with 7 drips all max. out. It was a very busy Sunday, Nurse Isabel called me at 0922 that the patient was no longer a 1:1 and the patient was placed on DNR. After my RRT was done, I went to 5W ICU to check on the unit and only a few family members were present at that time. On my second rounds I met all the family members in the hallway between RTU and behind 5W ICU. They were all pleased with Isabel and everyone gave her a hug and were very thankful. My heart melted because these are the family members who were very angry, adamant and disliked "this county hospital" and yet I saw the same family members who were appreciative, forever grateful, and loving and gave praises to your unit.
I had a chance to speak with one family member who told me about Isabel; how kind and loving nurse, and compassionate about their situation. She said that "Isabel's attitude and professionalism had made my mother feel comfortable and safe."