Teresina Guity-Togarepi took over the care of a patient with the report of no family members nor contacts for her, which is rather unusual. Multiple attempts were made to contact anyone from the phone number of the group home that the patient was picked up at by EMS, but the phone number was not functional. The case manager, social worker, and I had been trying to contact family members since the patient's admission because her prognosis was poor and critical.
Teresina was able to locate the patient's friend's number who confirmed that the patient does not have any immediate family in the United States, but she has a daughter in another country. Teresina was able to convince the friend to give her the number of the patient's daughter and used her personal phone to send a text to the daughter. She requested that the daughter call the hospital number to talk to the doctors about her mother. The daughter got the text and called the unit immediately and was able to talk to her mother's doctor, who updated her about the mother's poor prognosis. This was emotional for the daughter and everyone in the unit since she hadn't heard from her mother since a few days prior to hospital admission.
Teresina went ahead and reached out to the patient's daughter knowing the risks of texting an unknown number, and the possibility of getting into trouble by using her personal phone. Through the thoughtful and selfless action, the daughter's mind was put to rest even if she is thousands of miles away. The daughter was able to talk to the outstanding nurses and doctors of Memorial Southwest on the status of her loved one.
Teresina has worked in our unit for many years and provides outstanding, quality care to her patients and families. She is a great preceptor, and she only accepts the best from the people she is teaching and from her peers. She has received numerous compliments from her coworkers for being a team player.