Sara Hartsfield, RN, BSN, CIC

Last week, a patient was seen in the ED and discharged. After reviewing this patient's lab results, Sara recognized that the patient needed to be admitted based on life-threatening positive blood cultures. If left untreated, his condition would become worse, if not fatal. Sara contacted the patient and discussed her concerns. The patient informed her that he was the sole caregiver of a family member and could not be admitted. Sara asked his permission to contact his physician to assist with securing resources so that this patient could be admitted. Through her persistence, she facilitated the patient's admission and collaborated with his physician to provide a solution to the family member’s needs as well. Without her persistence and compassion, the outcome would have most likely been very different.