Peggy Luo
March 2015
Pei-Jun "Peggy"
Luo
,
RN
Ambulatory Infusion Center
VA Palo Alto Health Care Center
Mountain View
,
CA
United States
Pei-Jung Luo, affectionately known by patients and staff as Peggy, is an outstanding nurse and clinician. Peggy works for the Veteran's Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, VAPAHCS, as an ambulatory infusion nurse. Although she is a part-time employee, she makes a full-time impact on the patients who receive care at the VAPAHCS Ambulatory Infusion Center.
During a recent patient encounter, she was able to immediately improve the patient's quality of life. Peggy was caring for Mr. A, a patient in need of an iron sucrose infusion to treat his anemia. Mr. A was suffering from anemia secondary to renal failure. His renal function was end stage and his wife routinely performed his home peritoneal dialysis therapy.
During her pre-infusion assessment, Peggy discovered that the patient's arms, legs, and entire abdomen appeared edematous and he was only producing 200 ml of urine per day. Further assessment revealed that the patient's blood pressure was elevated and his pulse oximetry readings were 94% on room air. His wife stated that Mr. A. seemed tired all the time and that he had been sleeping more than normal.
As a former dialysis nurse, Peggy was familiar with standard dialysis processes and regimens. She reviewed, with the patient and his family, all of Mr. A's medications to include his dialysis regimen. She realized that the patient's dialysate concentration needed to be more concentrated to remove excess fluid.
Peggy took immediate action and contacted the dialysis nurse to explain the situation. She followed up with contacting the renal MD, and consulted with patient's wife as well. The Renal MD implemented a new order to increase the dialysate solution by 1.0 %. Had Peggy not taking taken action immediately, the patient would have ultimately seen his renal specialist during his three month check-up. However, it was more likely that Mr. A would have to visit the ER for an acute episode of fluid overload.
Peggy provided just in time interventions that prevented complications that would have resulted in hospitalization if left unchecked. Fortunately for Mr. A, Peggy had a background in dialysis and was committed to treating the root cause of her patient's concerns.
This one incident is just one of many examples of Peggy's commitment to excellence. Her nursing experience and strong clinical skills allow her to: evaluate, educate, and collaborate with nurses, patients and providers.
She is an advocate for patient safety who continually identifies best practices and processes that could be adopted at VAPAHCS. Her commitment to her patients and their families is evident in her continual attention to the customer's needs.
VAPAHCS Ambulatory Infusion Center is fortunate to have Peggy working for our organization. Our establishment will benefit greatly by retaining and recruiting nurses who share her clinical expertise, commitment, and nursing philosophy. Doing the right thing, no matter how much time it takes, will always yield quality results for our organization. Going the extra mile is a part of Peggy's daily nursing practice and is indeed part of her DNA.
During a recent patient encounter, she was able to immediately improve the patient's quality of life. Peggy was caring for Mr. A, a patient in need of an iron sucrose infusion to treat his anemia. Mr. A was suffering from anemia secondary to renal failure. His renal function was end stage and his wife routinely performed his home peritoneal dialysis therapy.
During her pre-infusion assessment, Peggy discovered that the patient's arms, legs, and entire abdomen appeared edematous and he was only producing 200 ml of urine per day. Further assessment revealed that the patient's blood pressure was elevated and his pulse oximetry readings were 94% on room air. His wife stated that Mr. A. seemed tired all the time and that he had been sleeping more than normal.
As a former dialysis nurse, Peggy was familiar with standard dialysis processes and regimens. She reviewed, with the patient and his family, all of Mr. A's medications to include his dialysis regimen. She realized that the patient's dialysate concentration needed to be more concentrated to remove excess fluid.
Peggy took immediate action and contacted the dialysis nurse to explain the situation. She followed up with contacting the renal MD, and consulted with patient's wife as well. The Renal MD implemented a new order to increase the dialysate solution by 1.0 %. Had Peggy not taking taken action immediately, the patient would have ultimately seen his renal specialist during his three month check-up. However, it was more likely that Mr. A would have to visit the ER for an acute episode of fluid overload.
Peggy provided just in time interventions that prevented complications that would have resulted in hospitalization if left unchecked. Fortunately for Mr. A, Peggy had a background in dialysis and was committed to treating the root cause of her patient's concerns.
This one incident is just one of many examples of Peggy's commitment to excellence. Her nursing experience and strong clinical skills allow her to: evaluate, educate, and collaborate with nurses, patients and providers.
She is an advocate for patient safety who continually identifies best practices and processes that could be adopted at VAPAHCS. Her commitment to her patients and their families is evident in her continual attention to the customer's needs.
VAPAHCS Ambulatory Infusion Center is fortunate to have Peggy working for our organization. Our establishment will benefit greatly by retaining and recruiting nurses who share her clinical expertise, commitment, and nursing philosophy. Doing the right thing, no matter how much time it takes, will always yield quality results for our organization. Going the extra mile is a part of Peggy's daily nursing practice and is indeed part of her DNA.