January 2018
Maria
Howard
,
RN, BSN, CWON
Wound Care Department
Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center
Mechanicsville
,
VA
USA
A mentally disabled patient and her caregiver mistakenly arrived in the Ambulatory Surgery Center unit. The patient has a colostomy that she had taken apart during transport to MRMC. The patient was anxious and distrustful of all staff and verbally escalated easily. The facility where she resides did not bring extra colostomy supplies and the ASU does not stock these items. Maria was called and arrived within 5 minutes. She quickly evaluated the site, obtained measurements and applied a new colostomy bag quickly to the patient. Although this seems like normal nursing care, this situation was far from normal. This patient was covered from her chest to her toes with stool. If not for Maria's quick help, we would not have been able to keep the patient clean or maintain her dignity. We were then able to get the patient to the appropriate department for her procedure. Maria's fast response and skill allowed us to quickly get the situation under control without causing unnecessary stress to the patient.