This is the time of year when our emergency departments are busiest. The mix of seasonal and year-round residents, tourists and visitors increases our local population substantially—out in the community and in our hospitals. Competent and efficient triage—or prioritizing of care—is vital.
Joel Raven is the 23-year-old son of Gulf Coast Medical Center rehabilitation supervisor Siobhan Raven. Last week, Siobhan received a phone call from Joel asking for help. He was experiencing nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Siobhan and her husband picked him up and brought him to their house, but quickly realized that they needed to bring him to the emergency department.
“I brought him to the ED because I thought his symptoms were medicine 101 for appendicitis,” Siobhan says. “After three minutes in triage, one of the nurses said to the other, ‘Put an 18-gauge needle in, this will be an admit, probably surgery.’ Those were not the words I’d usually want to hear, but I knew something was very wrong and felt instant relief that it was recognized by others.”
Siobhan says the emergency department was busy, but once triaged, things moved quickly for Joel. “Examinations, blood work, CT scan and surgery—it was seamless,” she says. “Once his appendix was out, Joel turned from a gray color to a healthy pink again.”
The staff worked quickly and skillfully to assess the situation and provide the best care for Joel—just as they did for all of the patients in the ED. “Whether anyone knew me or not didn’t make a difference in the way Joel was treated,” Siobhan says. “The staff in the ED, pre-op and the surgical unit were great—to Joel and to the other patients and families. We were thankful to everyone involved.”
Busy times call for us to quickly rely on our skills and knowledge, but we also rely on each other. Appropriately triaging patients and teamwork ensure that we deliver the care our patients need and deserve. In the ED and throughout Lee Memorial Health System, there are wonderful examples of caring people, caring for people.
