Great Catch winners announced

Danielle Ursone, RN, Progressive Care Unit (PCU), West Tower 8, won the Great Catch Award for practicing a questioning attitude with a patient transferred from the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) following a vascular procedure. During the handoff, the PACU nurse reported that the patient had just had a heparin infusion, which was stopped because the patient’s blood was too thin. When the patient arrived to the PCU, Ursone noticed an overdue order for heparin. She reviewed the medication administration record but found no record of heparin being started or stopped that day. Recognizing the inconsistency, Ursone refused to start heparin without clarification and advocated for testing the patient’s blood clotting before restarting the heparin infusion. 

Lakia Brayboy, RN, Medicine, was working the night shift and identified a patient who should have received bedtime care earlier in the shift to help with her sleep routine. Brayboy worked with her certified nursing assistant to cluster care and provide the nighttime medications. An hour later Brayboy heard voices coming from the patient’s room. She responded and saw a nurse holding a medication cup and attempting to wake her patient. Brayboy clarified that she was responsible for the patient and had already administered her medications. Her actions prevented a potential medication error.

Nicholas Rutigliano, physical therapist, Physical Medicine, had a patient arrive for treatment with bruising on her face and head. She said she’d fallen, but she appeared lightheaded, and her overall demeanor concerned Rutigliano. He reviewed her medications and medical history, and his instincts told him something more serious might be going on. Rutigliano called her primary care physician and told the patient’s husband to take her to a hospital. Doctors discovered brain bleeds, a potentially life-threatening condition. The patient’s husband credited Rutigliano’s attentiveness and clinical judgment with possibly saving his wife’s life.