Michelle Witalec goes above and beyond EVERY shift in the Emergency Department. Most recently she has been sacrificing time away from her family to help our department fill staffing needs during the night shift. Of all the hard work she puts in and the extraordinary care she provides to EVERY patient, one recent story epitomizes Michelle as a nurse.

Saturday night in the ER, during a busy shift, Michelle was assigned a young man struggling with IV drug addiction. Brought in by Fire Rescue, this individual was covered, head to toe, in visibly jumping lice and feces. Michelle rushed this patient to a warm shower, removed his soiled clothes, washed him, and applied lice medication. She risked her own safety as illegal drugs and open needles were found in his pockets. The entire time Michelle worked on this patient, he yelled and cursed at her and attempted to demean her efforts. His words were so harsh that multiple staff members had to come to check on Michelle. She held her ground, ignored this behavior, and continued on doing what was best for her patient. Because of this patient’s drug abuse history, his vasculature was destroyed -- Michelle sought out a colleague who could quickly place an ultrasound-guided IV and get lab work and a CAT scan to assess her patient's condition.

The patient was found to be severely anemic and had multiple septic emboli in his neck. Due to Michelle's dedication to her profession and her patients, the people of West Philadelphia can rest assured they are receiving the best health care possible. Michelle consistently ensures positive outcomes for her patients and is more than deserving of recognition for such.