Many of us have heard the Superman mantra: Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. I feel that Nick Oleskiewicz is definitely our superman. Each and every day he comes to work with a smile and a caring attitude. Nick has been essential in helping develop and maintaining the Clinical Decision Unit (CDU). Without his help, I don't think the unit would run as efficiently as it does. Nick is a role model for all of the nurses who work there. When he is not working (God forbid he gets a day off!), you hear nurses complain and frequently ask, "Where's Nick?"
Nick treats all of his patients as though they are the only patient in the hospital. He starts the discharge process and looks for barriers when patients first get admitted. He spends hours face-to-face with patients and their family members. I have no idea how he gets anything charted, but every discharge he does is impeccable. He ensures the patients have access to prescriptions and even though this unit doesn't do Meds-to-Beds, Nick will find a way to get patients their medications. He has helped family members navigate the new construction projects so that the patient can be picked up safely and efficiently. I have seen him actually walk a patient out to discharge when the nursing staff was too busy. He ensures DMEs are delivered to patients' rooms before discharge so the patient can practice using the new equipment with PT or OT. He coordinates everything from home oxygen, CIDI, and Home Health seamlessly. He truly cares about the health and wellbeing of every patient.
Nick is not only invested in each and every one of his patients, but he also cares about the staff. When the CDU first started the test of change for being only observation patients, Nick sent an e-mail to management describing the challenges he had witnessed. He asked management and other medical staff to be understanding and supportive of us as we were going through some difficult changes. He meets face-to-face with RNs and MDs, and attends the MDRs to ensure a holistic approach to care. He dots every "i" and crosses every "t" which makes the bedside RNs job so much easier. I remember a shift when I was Charge on CDU. I would call Nick as soon as a discharge order was placed, and every time he would answer, "Yeah. I know. I already have all the orders done. Transport is in an hour." I think he must have super-human powers. The guy is just unbelievable at his job.
To me, it sometimes appears that Care Management is a thankless job. The Care Management Team needs to be reminded that they are very important to our success, and Nick has shown that he is an exemplary part of the team. CDU would not be successful if we hadn't had Nick and his expertise. Thank you Nick for being awesome, and thank you for all of your care and hard work.