Michelle Burton, RN, BSN

Michelle was on the way to ICU when she came upon an ED tech pushing a gurney with a patient who was to be admitted to 2E with a P.E. The patient was thrashing on the gurney, would not keep his O2 on; his face was blue and he was yelling at the ED tech all the way down the hallway. Michelle asked if she could help, and the tech said yes, please! Michelle talked to the patient, encouraged him to keep on his O2, and finally just said, sir, you are blue; you need this oxygen! As he was still out of control, she directed the gurney into the ICU as she felt he could not wait to get to 2E. They rolled the patient into an empty ICU room, the patient continued to be combative, Michelle asked the HUC to call for Rapid Response and get a nurse into the room right away. She asked for a non-rebreather and got the patient set up with it. The ICU Charge Nurse appeared, asking what was happening; Michelle responded that she was trying to help and did not work in the ICU. The Rapid Response team appeared to take over care. Michelle has experience as a nurse and immediately knew that the patient needed urgent medical attention. He was ultimately taken to the CCU and admitted there rather than the med/surg floor on 2E. I have no doubt she prevented an even more dire situation from happening. KH is so fortunate to have Michelle as part of its healthcare team. Michelle would say she just did what came naturally and did not ask for any special recognition; however, it seems her actions are really what a DAISY Nurse would do.