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Medical emergency team proves a hospital winner
One doctor calls the concept a type of clinical
“pre-emptive strike.”
Another physician has already seen it in action, and her
patient benefited from the care.
They are speaking about the Medical Emergency Team
established in January at The Westerly Hospital.
The team’s mission is to bring advanced care to a
patient who appears to be failing before that patient worsens and goes into
respiratory failure or suffers a heart attack or stroke.
“For a community hospital to have this in place is
a big asset to the physician, the nurse and of course the patient,”
said Dr. Mark Mancini, a member of the task force that established the
protocols for the emergency team.
“These teams have been shown to save lives,”
Dr. Mancini said. “They get the ball rolling before the doctor
arrives and they can give the doctor real-time data while he or she is
enroute.”
In this case, the ‘team’ is really a pool of
clinical staff members including respiratory therapists, pharmacists, and
nurses with advanced training available on all three shifts. If a nurse
feels that a patient is failing, a team of these specialists can be called
in to evaluate the patient and begin treatment prescribed by precise
protocols based on best-practice procedures.
“This concept gives nurses more autonomy,”
Dr. Mancini said. “By having these protocols in place, they can go
ahead and order a respiratory treatment, or order a chest x-ray or draw a
blood gas once they determine a respiratory issue is causing the problem.
If it’s a cardiac issue they can order an EKG, check the cardiac
enzymes or administer
nitroglycerin,” he said.
Results of these procedures are shared with the
physician as they become available.
“I’ve already had a patient go through this
and it was very helpful to have all that information as I’m driving
in on Route 78,” said Dr. Lisa Menard-Manlove, who also was involved
in establishing the team. “It’s especially helpful for the
younger nurses.”
Dr. Steven Yolen, President of The Westerly Hospital
Medical Staff, said he h-as already heard from his colleagues about
patients benefiting from the team.
“We knew this would be an important asset to bring
to the community and I’m already hearing that the team has been
effective in delivering efficient patient care,” Yolen said.
In conjunction with the Medical Staff members on the
committee, the Hospital’s two Nurse Educators, Alison Desillier and
Boni Lawless, were responsible for writing the protocols and educating the
clinical staff about the concept.
The idea of an emergency team was initiated by the
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). The IHI serves as a resource to
help healthcare providers establish proactive procedures in an effort to
deliver the highest level of patient care and safety. It is no secret that
nationally, a percentage of patients die each year from causes that could
have been prevented.
That the health care community is openly talking about
these issues and making every effort on a national level to take proactive
and corrective measures is a credit to all who work in the profession. The Westerly Hospital has participated in IHI
initiatives for two years, and has established a number of quality
improvement measures as a result.
We’ve made a lot of noise recently about the new
services and powerful new technology we’ve added to our hospital in
the fight against illness and disease.
The Medical Emergency Team - a clinical pre-emptive
strike – is harnessing the powerful knowledge and skill of our
caregivers. It may be a little harder to showcase, but it combines all of the best elements we
have to offer – advanced technology, and skilled clinicians with
years of experience at the bedside.
David Tranchida is
the Manager of Public Relations and Marketing at The Westerly Hospital.
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Westerly Hospital, All Rights Reserved
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