There comes a time when you can’t help but tell your story. The Cath Lab here at Saddleback sets a gold standard in the care and management of all four disciplines. Cardiac, Neuro, Peripheral, and I.R. The team in the Cath Lab…well they define team in every way. Nursing, RT & CVTs are in teams of 4 and they care for all cases including Stemi, Code Thrombectomy, and every Emergency 24 hours a day/7 days a week. They support structural heart patients and service up to 20 cases a day. Excellence in team, care delivery, and outperforming the national benchmark. That’s why they more than deserve to be recognized. I am also more than honored to be a part of this amazing team.

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This is the closest-knit group of staff at Saddleback, perhaps the entire system. These teams operate professionally and efficiently despite the demands of providing service for elective and emergent cardiac, Neuro Interventional, Interventional Radiology, and Vascular Resources. Most facilities separate into three services. Providing 24/7 services in the busiest Cath Lab in all Memorial Care. Theses Staff members always shine and the outcomes in our performance are the proof you need to understand why they deserve this award.

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I have worked alongside the Saddleback Cath Lab for the last 8 years. Every team member is extremely passionate about patient safety. Everyone exudes excellence when staying up-to-date on new technology. I highly recommend the DAISY Team Award goes to the Saddleback Cath Lab.

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One day in March at our bed board meeting in the morning, several hospital floors were understaffed and needed help. As our CVOU unit was unusually slow for the day. The CVOU Clinical Supervisor applied critical thinking and offered to help by checking with staff to see who would be willing to voluntarily help. Several staff had worked previously on telemetry, ED, and One East and would be familiar with each of the floor’s routines. A few of our patients, whom we cared for the day before, would allow for continuity of care and expediting of review of discharge instructions and discharging. Reports from staff were how happy the patients were to see a familiar nurse, again. After discussing with the CVOU and Cath Lab nursing staff the dire situations and asking for volunteers. CVOU was successful in sending one RN, who used to work on One East, to help work on that floor for the day. A Cath lab nurse volunteered to help in the ED for the day, as she had previously worked and knew that department well. A Cath lab nurse came to cover for the CVOU Clinical Supervisor. The Clinical Supervisor offered to cover for lunch breaks on the telemetry floor. Simple Better written up by Liz Chassagne, Manager of Telemetry (Susan graciously came to our department today knowing that we didn’t have a charge nurse and our break nurse was pulled. Learning that we were in desperate need of beds, Susan followed up on anyone that might be discharged while she was breaking the RN. She’s already gotten three out the door that might have otherwise taken longer, and she’s not through yet! Thank you, Susan, for taking the initiative and jumping in. 2 East (and ED, PACU, AND ICU anxiously awaiting Tele beds) appreciate you! This shows the decision-making, assessing, and interpersonal skills of the clinical supervisor to coordinate the staff to assist patient flow in the hospital units and the care of patients. More importantly, the teamwork of the CVOU and Cath Lab staff to be able to show flexibility, knowledge, expertise, and the willingness to help fellow team members in a time of need. This allowed the entire hospital staff to provide safe patient flow. Thus, delivering safe patient and family-focused care.

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I would like to nominate the Cath Lab Team of the year. It goes without saying that they are professional, dedicated, and committed to the patients who are needing their care. As a Physician, I am confident that these patients receive care that is second to none because of this highly skilled Cath Lab Team. This is a 24/7 group of highly trained individuals who handle cases ranging from Cardiac emergencies and stroke to structural heart cases, peripheral, interventional radiology, and much more. The team in the Cath Lab has never been recognized for the amazing work they do every single day and night. And it is my hope that they are recognized. 

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I am writing to nominate a frequently neglected small department within Saddleback Hospital, whom daily, leave an everlasting impression on patient lives. The services this department provides to the community and county population are crucial, frequently utilized but often under-recognized for its contribution and impact in terms of patient outcome. This department is a highly-skilled, extremely adaptable, multi-modal specialty that is extremely rare and unheard of within the region. The department doors are always welcoming and open. The best part about the department is that it is staffed with amazing people who are good at what they do, enjoy what they do, and cherish the time spent with patients and with each other. Many patients often draw the analogy of the team’s work ethic and efficiency to a top-tier pit crew, but to this author, this team spirit has an additional familial feel on top of it. Of course, if you are still wondering what department I am referring to, it is SMC’s very own Catherization Lab. To describe the DAISY Team Award characteristics of this department in a singular story would not be an accurate representation of the Cath Lab. Rather, it is best to summarize the DAISY Team traits of the Cath Lab from the end; and that is the patient outcome. The services this department provide are not only limited to Cardiac, but also include Neuro, Peripheral and Interventional Radiology. It is a high volume and high pace department that strives to accommodate the ever-changing patient landscape while making a positive impact. The footprint of this service line is vast and the immediate outcome…life-altering. It is with no hesitation when this award opportunity arose focusing on the team essence that I nominate the Cath Lab. To summarize the DAISY Team spirit of the Cath Lab would be a department team that is capable of providing adaptive, flexible, compassionate life-changing care on a 24/7 basis at all hours of the day and night, all weekends and major holidays. Most importantly with a family feel and a smile.

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The Cardiac Lab Team sees the struggles of the human condition on the daily basis. And unlike most Cath Labs, this team sees them across many critical modalities. If a patient is seeking care for their heart, their brain, their arms or legs, their dialysis fistula, their literal lifeline, or any of several other vital organs, they come to the Cath Lab. The team is uniquely trained and qualified to complete a wide range of procedures and will go from one specialty to the next. In an ordinary day, the team could do a heart catheterization, follow it with a cerebral artery stent placement, implant a G-tube into a malnourished patient, install a pacemaker, balloon a popliteal artery to help someone walk with less pain, and wrap up the day by declotting a dialysis fistula. The team also is incredibly flexible and able to pivot at a moment’s notice if there is an emergency. Even if the schedule is full of scheduled procedures, they will drop everything to receive a critical heart attack or stroke patient. While one group is working to save the patient’s life, everyone else picks up the slack to ensure that the scheduled patients don’t have to wait any longer than necessary. The team also knows that the schedule is never done until it is done; procedures are often added during the day which can lead to working overtime. No one is ever turned away. Just because the business day ends at 5:30 pm doesn’t mean the team is done. The Cath Lab is available 24/7 for heart attacks, strokes, urgent dialysis catheter placements, and any other endovascular emergency. And given the one-stop-shop nature of the department, the afterhours team could be activated for a heart attack only to have a stroke patient arrive shortly thereafter. It is not uncommon for the team to pull late-nighters and overnights to save lives. The addition of the hybrid operating room opened the door for many complex catheter-based endovascular procedures including valve replacement, left atrial appendage occlusion (watchman) aortic aneurysm repair, and carotid artery revascularization (TCAR). As these programs were introduced, the Physicians leading the charge turned to the experience and expertise of the Cath Lab team to provide support. And the team took on challenges, quickly learning all aspects of the procedures and can go from one to the next seamlessly. Over the past several years the profile of Saddleback Medical Center has grown significantly as patients are now able to seek high levels of care for many complex and critical health issues without having to visit larger hospitals in Los Angeles or San Diego. The flexibility, commitment, drive, and patient-centric focus of the Cath lab team have been a critical part of this success and it is for this reason that I wish to nominate them for the DAISY Team Award. 

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This team exemplifies the true mission and values here at Saddleback Medical Center. This multi-disciplinary team is extremely talented with skill sets that impact every patient. Their collaboration and teamwork are extraordinary, allowing the best continuity of care and a simply better patient experience.