Annette Hawman
September 2020
Annette
Hawman
,
RN
Cardiac Cath Lab
Centennial Hills Hospital
Las Vegas
,
NV
United States
I would like to recognize Annette Hawman, one of our cath lab RNs for being an amazing person through and through. She has shown on so many occasions her compassion for her patients but I thought I would mention just the most recent kind thing she has done. I think it sums up her amazing personality, her concern for her patients and their families.
A few days ago, we had a STEMI called overhead from the ER. As a team of four, we all have our own roles to prepare the room, set up a sterile field, to reassure the patient, and educate them and their family members on what is about to happen.
This particular patient had a total occlusion of the right coronary artery. She was having a lot of pain and anxiety. Her concern for her son was overwhelmingly apparent as she was coming through the cath lab doors screaming her son's name and telling him that he would be OK. What I soon figured out was that her "son" was actually her Service dog named Gage. They had been out shopping together just before she drove herself to the Emergency Room with chest pain. She told Annette she had no family here in Vegas to come to take care of him. Without hesitation Annette took charge (as usual). She found an immediate dog sitter which happened to be the cardiologist on call for the STEMI. As he patiently stood waiting in the control room for the patient to be prepped and draped, Annette gave the doctor instructions to "watch the dog" and she closed the door behind her. As she put it, "he was speechless". We continued on at our usual fast pace as if this wasn't an unusual situation.
At this point, an unknowing staff member opens the door and lets the dog out... into the lab the dog runs to save his mom who is now draped on our table. Mom is yelling and the dog is whimpering and in the middle of all this Annette somehow managed, within minutes, to get the pup out the back door and picked up curbside by her husband to be taken to her own home. Before the night was over the pup had a much-needed bath, a good meal, and a safe place to sleep for the night while his mom recovered in the ICU.
After all was said and done I should mention that our door to balloon time ended up being 45 minutes, 45 min under the national standard. So again, I think Annette is a pretty amazing and caring person that would do just about anything for her patients and their families, including dogs, chickens, goats... or whatever, she would do anything to help.
In addition to this nomination from her peer, the story continued that following Monday morning when Annette arrived to work. Awaiting her was a beautiful bouquet of red roses and white daisies in an exquisite crystal vase with a Centennial Hills Hospital comment card attached addressed to Annette that stated "thank you for fixing my mom's heart and babysitting me!" signed by Gage (the dog).
A few days ago, we had a STEMI called overhead from the ER. As a team of four, we all have our own roles to prepare the room, set up a sterile field, to reassure the patient, and educate them and their family members on what is about to happen.
This particular patient had a total occlusion of the right coronary artery. She was having a lot of pain and anxiety. Her concern for her son was overwhelmingly apparent as she was coming through the cath lab doors screaming her son's name and telling him that he would be OK. What I soon figured out was that her "son" was actually her Service dog named Gage. They had been out shopping together just before she drove herself to the Emergency Room with chest pain. She told Annette she had no family here in Vegas to come to take care of him. Without hesitation Annette took charge (as usual). She found an immediate dog sitter which happened to be the cardiologist on call for the STEMI. As he patiently stood waiting in the control room for the patient to be prepped and draped, Annette gave the doctor instructions to "watch the dog" and she closed the door behind her. As she put it, "he was speechless". We continued on at our usual fast pace as if this wasn't an unusual situation.
At this point, an unknowing staff member opens the door and lets the dog out... into the lab the dog runs to save his mom who is now draped on our table. Mom is yelling and the dog is whimpering and in the middle of all this Annette somehow managed, within minutes, to get the pup out the back door and picked up curbside by her husband to be taken to her own home. Before the night was over the pup had a much-needed bath, a good meal, and a safe place to sleep for the night while his mom recovered in the ICU.
After all was said and done I should mention that our door to balloon time ended up being 45 minutes, 45 min under the national standard. So again, I think Annette is a pretty amazing and caring person that would do just about anything for her patients and their families, including dogs, chickens, goats... or whatever, she would do anything to help.
In addition to this nomination from her peer, the story continued that following Monday morning when Annette arrived to work. Awaiting her was a beautiful bouquet of red roses and white daisies in an exquisite crystal vase with a Centennial Hills Hospital comment card attached addressed to Annette that stated "thank you for fixing my mom's heart and babysitting me!" signed by Gage (the dog).