Dawn Cash
May 2022
Dawn
Cash
,
BSN, RN, WCC
Out Patient Wound Center
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, East Hospital
Columbus
,
OH
United States
Dawn is infinitely knowledgeable and a very skilled clinician. She considers her patient's physical and psychosocial needs well beyond wound care and makes it all look effortless.
Here are just a few examples that we have come up with as a team, just within the past couple of months to honor this capable, dedicated, compassionate, formidable nurse.
Patient-Specific Examples: Example 1: P.T. and his spouse needed to obtain a LAL AP mattress that matched his stature (Very tall, Solid Musculature), but was hitting a wall with insurance approval, despite persistent sacral wounds. Multiple advocacy attempts were made via phone, coordinated collaboration at bedside, peer in the moment education and problem solving, with a DME company, did not result in a resolution, so Dawn found a new barrel, researching other DME companies and identifying one that would meet the patient and spouse needs, and with multiple phone calls, order and documentation requests was able to get a bed approved for a man of his stature, that a BMI did not capture.
Example 2: we had a new mother, s/p C-Section that had developed an infection and further surgical procedures, with not only a newborn but two other small children at home. To support this patient's goals of being able to care for her children, heal and not have repeated infections, and increase mobility. Once the patient's NPWT was approved. Dawn attempted to locate home care with 150 different agencies, completing multiple AIDIN referrals. When none of those 150 accepted the patient. Dawn got on the phone and manually called multiple home care agencies to try to obtain a resource for this patient, while at the same time covering an assignment in clinic, helping with triage in-basket, and taking on the fly questions from peers.
Example 3: I recently had the privilege of observing Dawn while she worked with a medically complex patient who was being seen by three clinic providers in one visit. Dawn learned from the patient that she may need to have a hysterectomy along with a hernia repair and colostomy. Dawn immediately set to work on coordinating with the patient's Gyn provider to ensure that this additional component was incorporated into the patient's surgical plan of care. Dawn is infinitely knowledgeable and a very skilled clinician. She considers her patient's physical and psychosocial needs well beyond wound care and makes it all look effortless. We are fortunate to have her!
Example 4: An OSU patient’s spouse called in a panic, because the spouse’s ostomy pouch blew off their body, and stool went everywhere. They had just been discharged and were waiting for follow-up to learn how to care for the pouch. On discharge the patient and spouse said they had not been trained on pouch change and thought that they were not supposed to touch it until the follow-up. Dawn responded immediately. She talked them through it during a lengthy telephone conversation. She calmed their fears, encouraged them to take the leap, and walked them through the entire process. The couple successfully cleansed the stoma, changed the pouch and learned to burp and empty the pouch, all because Dawn answered the call. Her ability to help people achieve the insurmountable enabled this couple to move from fear and failure to success and independence.
Instrumental Departmental Force Example: Prior to moving to the wound center location on the west side of OSU East Hospital, the wound center had been in the Tower and shared tele-translator service units with other units. Which resulted in a great deal of time locating this resource for our patients and families. Accessing this needed technology became more challenging after the move in 6/2020. Independently motivated, she took ownership to remove this delay in care and improve clinic flow and access for our patients. She tracked a number of wound center patients requiring translation technology each week, and the impact of not having the resources, making the need measurable, supporting the need, and successfully obtaining approval and acquisition for a telehealth translator technology unit for our department.
Additional Department Examples: · Actively participates in ULC · Assisted in implementing the new clinic flow model to support improved clinic efficiency. · She trained staff on case manager duties such as ordering DME, home health, and prior authorization for patients · This contributes to better continuity of care and efficient care for patient’s home care and in clinic care needs · Involved in EPIC documentation improvement initiatives to improve clinic flow · Participates and leads department journal clubs with support improved patient care according to current literature and best practices · Works to ensure patients receive the appropriate education and discharge instructions to take the best care of their wounds. She goes above and beyond to seek out supportive resources for patients that need help to be successful with their plan of care. Ex. patient with vac and no home support, didn't qualify for home care, Dawn arranged for the patient to have individual teaching from the vac company then continued to work with the patient on self vac application until he was able to independently apply. The patient was extremely grateful to Dawn and felt a sense of accomplishment that he could now care for himself but also had her support. · She helped to write numerous clinical policies during the transition from Healogics to self-management. · She is one of the B.E.S. T. trainers and supports staff in caring for complex patients · She took extra training in Trauma Informed Care to support some of our patients that have experienced traumatic events which hinder their care and adherence to treatment. Educated other staff in these principles. · She has served in several community health projects and fairs, educating the public about wound care and the importance.
My comment from her most recent evaluation: “Dawn is one of the most engaged nurses in the department. She is laser-focused on ensuring the Wound Care patients receive excellent care and have a positive patient experience. She works extremely hard to represent OSUWMC and the Wound Center well among internal and external customers. Dawn's passion for Wound Care is largely unmatched as she takes pride in her work which is demonstrated by the commitment she has to the Wound Center, patients, providers, and fellow staff. I can’t thank her enough for all of her hard work each and every day in support of our goals.”
Patient-Specific Examples: Example 1: P.T. and his spouse needed to obtain a LAL AP mattress that matched his stature (Very tall, Solid Musculature), but was hitting a wall with insurance approval, despite persistent sacral wounds. Multiple advocacy attempts were made via phone, coordinated collaboration at bedside, peer in the moment education and problem solving, with a DME company, did not result in a resolution, so Dawn found a new barrel, researching other DME companies and identifying one that would meet the patient and spouse needs, and with multiple phone calls, order and documentation requests was able to get a bed approved for a man of his stature, that a BMI did not capture.
Example 2: we had a new mother, s/p C-Section that had developed an infection and further surgical procedures, with not only a newborn but two other small children at home. To support this patient's goals of being able to care for her children, heal and not have repeated infections, and increase mobility. Once the patient's NPWT was approved. Dawn attempted to locate home care with 150 different agencies, completing multiple AIDIN referrals. When none of those 150 accepted the patient. Dawn got on the phone and manually called multiple home care agencies to try to obtain a resource for this patient, while at the same time covering an assignment in clinic, helping with triage in-basket, and taking on the fly questions from peers.
Example 3: I recently had the privilege of observing Dawn while she worked with a medically complex patient who was being seen by three clinic providers in one visit. Dawn learned from the patient that she may need to have a hysterectomy along with a hernia repair and colostomy. Dawn immediately set to work on coordinating with the patient's Gyn provider to ensure that this additional component was incorporated into the patient's surgical plan of care. Dawn is infinitely knowledgeable and a very skilled clinician. She considers her patient's physical and psychosocial needs well beyond wound care and makes it all look effortless. We are fortunate to have her!
Example 4: An OSU patient’s spouse called in a panic, because the spouse’s ostomy pouch blew off their body, and stool went everywhere. They had just been discharged and were waiting for follow-up to learn how to care for the pouch. On discharge the patient and spouse said they had not been trained on pouch change and thought that they were not supposed to touch it until the follow-up. Dawn responded immediately. She talked them through it during a lengthy telephone conversation. She calmed their fears, encouraged them to take the leap, and walked them through the entire process. The couple successfully cleansed the stoma, changed the pouch and learned to burp and empty the pouch, all because Dawn answered the call. Her ability to help people achieve the insurmountable enabled this couple to move from fear and failure to success and independence.
Instrumental Departmental Force Example: Prior to moving to the wound center location on the west side of OSU East Hospital, the wound center had been in the Tower and shared tele-translator service units with other units. Which resulted in a great deal of time locating this resource for our patients and families. Accessing this needed technology became more challenging after the move in 6/2020. Independently motivated, she took ownership to remove this delay in care and improve clinic flow and access for our patients. She tracked a number of wound center patients requiring translation technology each week, and the impact of not having the resources, making the need measurable, supporting the need, and successfully obtaining approval and acquisition for a telehealth translator technology unit for our department.
Additional Department Examples: · Actively participates in ULC · Assisted in implementing the new clinic flow model to support improved clinic efficiency. · She trained staff on case manager duties such as ordering DME, home health, and prior authorization for patients · This contributes to better continuity of care and efficient care for patient’s home care and in clinic care needs · Involved in EPIC documentation improvement initiatives to improve clinic flow · Participates and leads department journal clubs with support improved patient care according to current literature and best practices · Works to ensure patients receive the appropriate education and discharge instructions to take the best care of their wounds. She goes above and beyond to seek out supportive resources for patients that need help to be successful with their plan of care. Ex. patient with vac and no home support, didn't qualify for home care, Dawn arranged for the patient to have individual teaching from the vac company then continued to work with the patient on self vac application until he was able to independently apply. The patient was extremely grateful to Dawn and felt a sense of accomplishment that he could now care for himself but also had her support. · She helped to write numerous clinical policies during the transition from Healogics to self-management. · She is one of the B.E.S. T. trainers and supports staff in caring for complex patients · She took extra training in Trauma Informed Care to support some of our patients that have experienced traumatic events which hinder their care and adherence to treatment. Educated other staff in these principles. · She has served in several community health projects and fairs, educating the public about wound care and the importance.
My comment from her most recent evaluation: “Dawn is one of the most engaged nurses in the department. She is laser-focused on ensuring the Wound Care patients receive excellent care and have a positive patient experience. She works extremely hard to represent OSUWMC and the Wound Center well among internal and external customers. Dawn's passion for Wound Care is largely unmatched as she takes pride in her work which is demonstrated by the commitment she has to the Wound Center, patients, providers, and fellow staff. I can’t thank her enough for all of her hard work each and every day in support of our goals.”