May 2015
Marylou
Enriques
,
LVN
Family Medicine - West Covina
Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center
Baldwin Park
,
CA
United States
I want to let you know of a job well done by Marylou. Few weeks ago, I received a message from heart failure clinic that a patient (frail 82 year old, lives alone) had stopped taking a medication due to a perceived side effect. I had routed the message to Marylou to ask the patient to restart on the medication since her symptom is unlikely due to the medication. When Marylou called her, patient felt comfortable enough that she disclosed a bigger problem. Patient was having black stool for few days already and had not told anybody yet. Marylou did the right thing by getting her the appointment to see me on the same day. When I saw the patient, she was so pale and weak. STAT lab showed HGB 5.8. I believe that Marylou was so caring while talking on the phone with the patient that the patient then decided to reach out for help. Marylou made the right decision of bringing in the patient right away. I foresee a very poor outcome for the patient should she had not come in. We don't get to see the fruit of our work every day. But on that day, we did. We saved a life. I want to recognize Marylou for a job well done.