Tiffnie is our case manager in the emergency department. Several weeks ago, she brought in a very distressed young man to our office. The young man had been involved in an MVC on I-40, and his best friend, who was helping him move across the country, was killed. The young man was now in Texas, where he knew no one, he was injured, and had no belongings. Tiffany spent hours on the phone, talking to the towing company, the patient's family, and resources in the area, to develop a plan for him. She found him clothing, and was able to find him a place to stay while he was here, as well as a plan to get him home. Due to the fact that the MVC occurred in the deceased's vehicle, all of the patient's belongings were unable to be released from the vehicle, except to the deceased's family.
After making several phone calls, Tiffany was able to utilize resources, and get some of the patient's belongings from the car, including his ID, so he would be able to fly home. She also arranged for him to get his prescriptions filled. Several weeks later, I found out she was still in contact with the young man. Once his belongings were able to be released from the car, Tiffany went to the towing company to retrieve them. The car was destroyed, and due to the nature of the wreck, a bio-hazard suit had to be worn by anyone getting into the vehicle. Tiffany put on a bio-hazard suit, and combed the vehicle to recover what she could. The patient had been moving across the country, so all of his belongings were in the car. After getting out everything she could, she then developed a plan to ship all of his belongings to him.
I was in awe at how above and beyond she went for this patient. He was truly in distress after this incident, and I can't imagine him having to try and deal with all of these things on his own. The ED, and Northwest, are privileged to honor her with this DAISY Award.