meredith gaudet, RN

Meredith took care of a postpartum patient who had no history of hypertension. Early in the morning, the patient's physician entered a discharge order. During the night, the patient had had climbing blood pressures, nothing dramatic, but in the low 140s over 80s and low 90s. Meredith called the physician to point out these pressures. The physician ordered a HELLP panel. The results were abnormal and the discharge was canceled. The following day, the patient's lab work was even more abnormal and the physician treated her with mag sulfate. Meredith should be congratulated on her tenacity, her commitment to excellence, and her attention to the subtle details that were the ONLY clues that this patient was developing postpartum preeclampsia. According to the CDC, 55% of maternal deaths are preventable. Why don't we prevent them? Because the signs are subtle and providers miss them. Not Meredith! She saw the signs and did the right thing.