Susan Goran
April 2015
Susan
Goran
,
MSN, RN
Intensive Care Unit
Maine Medical Center
Portland
,
ME
United States
A little over a year ago, our Intensive Care Unit (ICU) had a patient admitted from a northern Maine town. The patient was admitted with multiple pressure ulcers. It was very disheartening to see so many ulcers and staff had recognized that many of them were preventable (almost all of them actually). The physician team and our unit's leadership team were called in to review the case. Photos were taken and it was clear that someone had to call the sending facility and address what was found.
Well, that someone was Sue Goran. No one realized the impact that phone call was going to make. Often calls about such topics can result in defensiveness and walls. However, this call was different. Sue is such an exemplary leader. She has such a way of addressing difficult situations and turning them into a learning experience.
What evolved after the phone conversation was above and beyond our expectations. Sue had collaborated with the facility and offered them the opportunity to visit our ICU, meet our wound care experts, and round with the ICU wound care nurse and the CNL. A few months later the leadership team from the facility was visiting Maine Medical Center's ICU and rounding with our skin team to come up with a plan on how they can address their needs to prevent pressure ulcers from occurring. Sue graciously escorted them around our unit, provided them opportunity for sharing and brainstorming, and of course, had them laughing by the end of their visit.
Sue saw the bigger picture. She not only is a leader who advocates for patients at MMC but identified an area of need in another facility. This week Sue shared a follow up e-mail from the hospital. It was from their new wound care nurse who has been working at their facility for the last 6 months. The letter was requesting further collaboration with Maine Medical Center. Sue is currently in the process of setting up another opportunity for this outside facility so we can openly share what we have learned over the years.
Sue is a compassionate and exceptional leader. Sue is a role model to us all on how to make a difficult situation a learning experience. What's more she has taught us how to build bridges with our community partners.
Well, that someone was Sue Goran. No one realized the impact that phone call was going to make. Often calls about such topics can result in defensiveness and walls. However, this call was different. Sue is such an exemplary leader. She has such a way of addressing difficult situations and turning them into a learning experience.
What evolved after the phone conversation was above and beyond our expectations. Sue had collaborated with the facility and offered them the opportunity to visit our ICU, meet our wound care experts, and round with the ICU wound care nurse and the CNL. A few months later the leadership team from the facility was visiting Maine Medical Center's ICU and rounding with our skin team to come up with a plan on how they can address their needs to prevent pressure ulcers from occurring. Sue graciously escorted them around our unit, provided them opportunity for sharing and brainstorming, and of course, had them laughing by the end of their visit.
Sue saw the bigger picture. She not only is a leader who advocates for patients at MMC but identified an area of need in another facility. This week Sue shared a follow up e-mail from the hospital. It was from their new wound care nurse who has been working at their facility for the last 6 months. The letter was requesting further collaboration with Maine Medical Center. Sue is currently in the process of setting up another opportunity for this outside facility so we can openly share what we have learned over the years.
Sue is a compassionate and exceptional leader. Sue is a role model to us all on how to make a difficult situation a learning experience. What's more she has taught us how to build bridges with our community partners.