October 2024
Andrea
Clementi
,
BSN, RN
UCC PACU
Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital
Lake Forest
,
IL
United States
Andrea Clementi went above and beyond when she took over the care of a patient in the PACU so the nurse could take a lunch break. Not long after she took over the patient's care, she noticed a right facial droop and right upper extremity weakness after the patient started waking up after surgery. She took rapid action to send out a stroke alert. MRI and CT of brain findings of acute multifocal ischemic stroke and postop complications of DVT and PE and possible aspiration pneumonia followed. Due to Andrea's quick actions and keen observations, the patient received a rapid diagnosis and a higher level of care. Kudos to Andrea for her excellent observations and patient care.