Oncology Nurse Manager, Michelle Tabar, was an outstanding support to us in the ED today as we handled the sad case of an MVA that included a driver and two passengers. The passengers came to us as Tier 1 and Tier 2 traumas, while the driver was walking and talking. The Tier 1, unfortunately, was pronounced shortly after arrival. It turned out that the two survivors were non-English speakers and that's where Michelle came in.
We had trouble with our translation system dialing up the proper translation, so Michelle assisted us for the larger part of two hours, communicating with both survivors at various points. Particularly, she assisted the driver from going through Triage to being seen as a patient in EDX to helping the CHP officer and me locate the place of employment, contacting the employer to assist in identifying family for our deceased patient, and finally assisting the doctor and me with notifying the driver that the friend had succumbed to the injuries. She helped me provide condolences and emotional support to the driver, all while tearful herself from the gravity and sadness of the event.
We could not have served these patients with a high level of excellence, respect, and compassion without Michelle's incredible support. She took time out of what I'm sure was a typical busy day to Know, Care For, and Ease the Way of a patient who we otherwise would have struggled to communicate with or had to possibly use an iPad or phone to tell them that the friend was deceased. I can't say enough about how powerful her presence and language support was for our ED team as well, feeling the relief of having one of our own provide the communication necessary to help these patients.