Staff of the Emergency Department at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center
December 2019
Staff of the Emergency Department
at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center
Emergency Services
MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center
Laguna Hills
,
CA
United States
Rebecca Bolling, BSN, RN, CEN
Richard Cervantes, RN
Jody Haynes, BSN, RN, CEN, SCRN
Jeannine Fillhouer, BSN, RN
Federico Naval, RN
Ashlyn Pickett, BSN, RN, CEN
Richard Cervantes, RN
Jody Haynes, BSN, RN, CEN, SCRN
Jeannine Fillhouer, BSN, RN
Federico Naval, RN
Ashlyn Pickett, BSN, RN, CEN
The last week was incredibly challenging, to say the least, including one of the biggest surges of patients on Thursday that I have seen in my time here. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to this team that pulled together to take care of our patients and each other. The efforts that we gave during this time were nothing short of heroic. Patient flow was severely impacted and the hospital as a whole was affected; every floor nurse was maxed out, to include the charge nurses. Thursday, the ED staff and leadership had to address a lobby of almost 30 patients and wait times already passing four hours. When the time came and plans were enacted, we doubled the fast track capacity and extended the RME chairs into the main treatment area by a count of 8 in addition to hallway bedded patients. At one time, our unit was caring for more than 55 patients in the 31 bed treatment area, implementing strategies from our disaster plans. The aftermath took all weekend to wind down.
• ED nurses took more than their fair share and helped with the chairs as well as their already difficult assignments, some with ICU holds. They also stayed later and came in earlier in support of the community and their colleagues. The clinical supervisors/charge nurses showed great leadership, directed patient flow, supported the nurses, and maintained hallway seating, making room where there was none for ‘just one more’.
• PCTs came in extra to help and seemed to be everywhere at once. They moved from patient care to unit support, as well as venturing into a tense lobby to do vitals and check on patients.
• Secretaries coordinating the lines of communication between hospitalists, arranging transfers and supporting the ED doctors for almost double our normal capacity of patients.
• Registration staff moved throughout the chaos to check in so many patients, verifying information and finding patients with only ‘made up’ bed numbers. Not to mention, being in the fishbowl and addressing the concerns of waiting patients and family members.
• ED doctors took on far more than their normal patient loads, coordinated with leadership, and called in an extra doctor to help with the surge.
• Public safety worked short-staffed and supported the ED, to include interventions in the waiting room when needed.
• Even the patients fed off the team’s energy and seemed to be more understanding of wait times and tolerated hallway beds and chairs well with a sense of ‘we’re all in this together’. In even the most difficult of times, there were no complaints – just offers to do more.
In writing this, I had thought about including special recognition for certain individuals that contributed to these efforts. Truthfully, there are too many to name. Many, I have spoken to individually and I will continue to do so. I would instead like to recognize this team as a whole. I am humbled by the amazing work that this team has done over the past week. We ask so much of ourselves on a daily basis in doing our jobs, but we find new ways to dig in deeper and give more than we thought possible. I am proud of the work we have done and always do.
• ED nurses took more than their fair share and helped with the chairs as well as their already difficult assignments, some with ICU holds. They also stayed later and came in earlier in support of the community and their colleagues. The clinical supervisors/charge nurses showed great leadership, directed patient flow, supported the nurses, and maintained hallway seating, making room where there was none for ‘just one more’.
• PCTs came in extra to help and seemed to be everywhere at once. They moved from patient care to unit support, as well as venturing into a tense lobby to do vitals and check on patients.
• Secretaries coordinating the lines of communication between hospitalists, arranging transfers and supporting the ED doctors for almost double our normal capacity of patients.
• Registration staff moved throughout the chaos to check in so many patients, verifying information and finding patients with only ‘made up’ bed numbers. Not to mention, being in the fishbowl and addressing the concerns of waiting patients and family members.
• ED doctors took on far more than their normal patient loads, coordinated with leadership, and called in an extra doctor to help with the surge.
• Public safety worked short-staffed and supported the ED, to include interventions in the waiting room when needed.
• Even the patients fed off the team’s energy and seemed to be more understanding of wait times and tolerated hallway beds and chairs well with a sense of ‘we’re all in this together’. In even the most difficult of times, there were no complaints – just offers to do more.
In writing this, I had thought about including special recognition for certain individuals that contributed to these efforts. Truthfully, there are too many to name. Many, I have spoken to individually and I will continue to do so. I would instead like to recognize this team as a whole. I am humbled by the amazing work that this team has done over the past week. We ask so much of ourselves on a daily basis in doing our jobs, but we find new ways to dig in deeper and give more than we thought possible. I am proud of the work we have done and always do.