October 2017
Lisa
Wallace
,
NP, MSN
Intensive Care Unit
Cleveland Clinic Avon Hospital
Avon
,
OH
United States
We had a patient who was a DNRCCA who came to our ED and was intubated after she was found unresponsive at ECF. After multiple tests were unable to determine the cause of unresponsiveness, the decision was made to extubate the patient and get hospice involved so that this would not happen again and to be a support system for the family. The guardian, who was her brother, along with his wife and granddaughter met with hospice. The granddaughter was very emotional and was pressuring the guardian, her grandfather, into decisions he was not comfortable with, arguing with him relentlessly. The hospice nurse excused herself and Lisa took the time to go into the room, sit, talk and discuss with them the wishes of the patient and what was in her best interest. Lisa allowed them to verbalize their feelings and frustrations. She assisted the granddaughter and guardian in understanding the situation the patient was in. She gave amazing support to the guardian and the patient's brother so that he could feel okay with the decisions he needed to make. She provided them with understanding and guidance. Lisa was an amazing advocate for the guardian, the granddaughter and especially the patient, who could not speak for herself. The patient was transferred back to the ECF, where everyone knew her, with hospice in place to support her.