Ellen Day with consistency, commitment, and resilience has taken care of her patients with compassion and clinical competence. Ellen always puts the patient first, their safety, care, comfort, and well-being; she never waivers from this.
A fifty plus year old, timid Hispanic male who speaks English limitedly, was admitted at 1500 to our unit from the Emergency Department with a large, open, and bleeding wound on his left forearm cut by a chainsaw which slipped from his hand. The ER nurse reported that the plastic surgeon has seen the wound and planned to do surgery in the morning. He was aware of the bleeding and recommended to apply a pressure dressing. The ER nurse denied any hemostat agent applied in the wound. When we received the patient, his pressure dressing was already soaked with blood and there were large-sized blood clots present. I instructed the patient's nurse to change and apply a new pressure dressing, elevate the left arm above the heart, apply ice pack, and monitor the bleeding. From the time of his arrival until 1800, the patient's nurse has changed the pressure dressing twice and it seemed that the bleeding has not slowed down. The patient and his newly arrived family were very uneasy and concerned about his bleeding and the delay of his surgery. At 1845, when the patient's admitting doctor arrived, Ellen Day right away presented the seriousness of the bleeding problem and how it was traumatizing both the patient and his family. She showed the bleeding left forearm wound to the doctor, took pictures of it including its bloody soaked dressing with large-sized blood clots. The admitting doctor ordered to wrap the left forearm wound with ace wrap to apply more pressure to the bleeding site, but after a few minutes the patient started to have numbness and tingling on his left arm. The admitting doctor agreed with Ellen about the seriousness of the patient's bleeding and the need of immediate surgery. She spoke with the plastic surgeon and the patient was sent to surgery at 2000 for repair and suturing of his wound. After PACU, the patient returned to our unit with his left forearm covered with a clean and dry dressing, no more bleeding to watch and to worry. He went home the next day, happy and appreciative of his treatment.
Ellen Day has the mind, the spirit, and the heart of a true nurse. She sincerely cares for the patients and wants the best for them. Ellen Day, thank you so much for being a nurse that cares and for contributing to the dignity and nobility of what Nursing is.