October 2018
Peter
Tomter
,
RN
J5-5
Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
Cleveland
,
OH
United States

 

 

 

His expertise and dedication enabled this donation after a cardiac death case to be executed seamlessly, without delays, and most importantly he provided excellent patient care until the very end.
Recently, we had a difficult case where we had a patient on VV ECMO who unfortunately was not a lung transplant candidate. This patient was alert and oriented. She and her family made the difficult decision to withdraw care in the OR in the hopes that she could be an organ donor. When the plan was made three days prior, Peter Tomter offered to adjust his work schedule to ensure he would be present for the patient and family. Tuesday night we did “The Pause” before taking her to the OR for compassionate withdrawal of care. Peter then stayed long after his shift ended to go to the OR to push medications and ensure the patient’s comfort. Peter could have gone home, but he chose to stay to be with this family in their time of need and to help the team. His expertise and dedication enabled this donation after a cardiac death case to be executed seamlessly, without delays, and most importantly he provided excellent patient care until the very end.