September 2022
Inpatient Rehabilitation Center, Labor & Delivery, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Lehigh Valley Health Network
Allentown
,
PA
United States
Joelle Liwerant, RN
Mary Green, RN
Jemelyn Castronuevo, RN
Thomas Pagnelli, RN
Yesenia Rivera, RN
Ashley Sawyer, RN
Rose Hoke, RN
Mary Green, RN
Jemelyn Castronuevo, RN
Thomas Pagnelli, RN
Yesenia Rivera, RN
Ashley Sawyer, RN
Rose Hoke, RN
In August 2021, colleagues from three inpatient units at the LVH-Cedar Crest campus influenced the clinical care of a 32-year-old gravid patient with a twin gestation. The mother was transferred from an external facility to the LVH-Cedar Crest Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit for acute care following surgical resection of a spinal cord tumor. Early in this mother’s hospital stay, her clinical condition quickly worsened, and she became unresponsive. A ‘Code Blue’ was initiated on the unit and an interprofessional team, inclusive of nursing, initiated lifesaving measures for this patient and her unborn twins. While nurses on the IRC began CPR, the Labor and Delivery team quickly arrived and determined that an emergent, bedside cesarean section was necessary to save the lives of the mother and fetuses. Post-delivery, physicians, respiratory therapists, and nurses from the NICU team resuscitated and stabilized the neonates. As a result of stellar communication, collaboration, and expertise, this team successfully preserved three lives.