St. John's Lutheran Hospital ER Recognized
Expert teamwork in ALERT transports
May 14, 2007
Friday the 13th of April earned its reputation, as a day of misfortune, when St. John’s Lutheran Hospital’s Emergency Department became the transport hub for three back-to-back-to-back medical air-transports to Kalispell Regional Hospital -- involving two automobile accidents and one severe cardiac emergency.
Jay Moody, Paramedic at St. John’s, along with the Libby Volunteer Ambulance crew, responded to the calls. Meanwhile, back at St. John’s, the ER/Surgery teams --including Drs. Nelson, Maloney, and Ercanbrack -- assembled the extra staff and equipment needed to receive the trauma patients.
Both the emergency and surgical teams at St. John’s were commended for a job well done by Bill Norton, RN, and flight nurse with A.L.E.R.T. Helicopter transport that night. “The care provided under extraordinary circumstances was of a monumental feat,” noted Norton.
Norton wrote a letter to the administration at St. John’s applauding the Emergency Department for their role in the transports. “In the many facilities I have visited, I have never been met with more camaraderie and collegiality than the staff at St. John’s Hospital that night,” wrote Norton. Speaking to the efficiency and competence with which the patients were stabilized and prepared for transport, Norton added, “I myself had little to do other than conduct a rapid transport to KRMC.” (Kalispell Regional Medical Center)
“Few people realize the expertise and experience it takes to administer care to critical patients out in the field and to stabilize and prepare them for transport,” commented Dr. Jay Maloney, Director of the Emergency Department at St. John’s. “We have an ER/Surgery team that includes Emergency Room Physicians, Surgeons, Certified Registered Nurses Anesthetists, Registered Nurses, Nurses Aids, and Respiratory Therapists who are on call and ready to assist at a moments notice. We also employ two Paramedics who are on call 24/7, so they are available to go into the field in situations where advanced care is required. Paramedics are trained to provide a higher level of care, like advanced assessment, intubation, and the administration of life-saving medicines. Without these folks stabilizing patients in the field, the number of patients surviving these horrible accidents would be much less. We are fortunate that this hospital understands the importance of employing Paramedics—it’s not common practice in most rural hospitals.”
The administration at St. John’s plans to recognize all the personnel that were involved in the April 13th transports. "External recognition of this type, from a member of an elite medical transport service, is very special,” said Bill Patten, CEO at St. John’s. “I was proud to share this information with the Hospital Board and they enthusiastically supported the formal Letters of Commendation I wrote to each caregiver who worked that night."
Story courtesy K C Hoyer, St. John’s Lutheran Hospital
Related Links:
St. John's Lutheran Hospital, www.sjlh.com
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