Andy Butterfield is an extraordinary nurse. Since the day I started working for Memorial, his strong work ethic, genuine care for his patients, and love of nursing were apparent. Though I consider Andy to be a nurse who always goes above and beyond, a few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to witness Andy exceed even his own exceptional care.
It was a busy night on the cardiology unit and Andy was providing total patient care to all of his patients as always. One of his patients was experiencing an acute change in mental status- disoriented and angry at times. Andy was trying different methods of calming the patient, while continually reassuring and supporting his frightened wife.
Next door, another of his patients was experiencing an acute exacerbation of her respiratory disease. Her oxygen levels were dropping. Andy was frequently in her room, managing her oxygen status, assessing her condition, contacting the physician, and trying to keep the patient, who was experiencing panic attacks, calm.
While many of the nurses on our floor would be frazzled managing two very acute, very busy patients, Andy was cool, calm, and collected as always. He ran from room to room, tending to the emergent issues, and still maintaining total patient care on his other patients, rounding on them, ensuring their medications were provided in a timely manner, and tending to the needs of all of the patients and their families.
While the other nurses on the unit offered their assistance, Andy handled the immense workload like a pro. In fact, he always does. It is when you work with Andy, and encounter the “little” things he does for his patients, you really grow to appreciate what a phenomenal nurse he is. He would absolutely be my choice of nurses to care for me or my family. I am consistently in awe of his attention to detail, holistic approach to care, and remarkable ability to handle any situation.
After hours of tending to multiple acute situations, Andy maintained his calm and collected demeanor as he called a Code Grey due to the escalated situation of the patient with mental status changes, and transferred his other patient, who was now on a non-rebreather mask, to the ICU.
While Andy did everything imaginable to help his patients, he was also able to recognize when they were in need of additional resources and care beyond what he was able to provide.