Download PDF - St. Anthony's Medical Center

TEAM EFFORT SAVES A LIFEJoe Warner, 53, was doing the dishes in his Imperialhome before dinner on Jan 31. He had suffereda heart attack the previous November and wasrecovering from double-bypass surgery. He had justreturned to work as a salesman at a plastics company,and he was talking with his 19-year old stepson,Tyler Wheat.Wheat remembers, “I wasn’t even supposed tobe there. I was supposed to be out with friends, butthey had cancelled our plans. I had just gotten homefrom the store and was walking up the stairs fromthe garage. I heard Joe in the kitchen. I asked himhow his day was, and he joked that his job was goingto kill him. Then he got a dazed look, and couldn’tspeak.”At that moment, Warner dropped to the floor, andonly remembers darkness.His stepson called 911, and started CPR,something Wheat had learned years ago. Thedispatcher instructed Wheat until paramedicsarrived. They took him to the EmergencyDepartment at St. Anthony’s Medical Center, whereRandy Speck, M.D. was waiting. “He (Warner) waslucky that people were nearby when this happened,and that paramedics could get him toSt. Anthony’s quickly,” said Dr. Speck.Dr. Speck, along with Tina Gearhart, R.N.,worked to stabilize Warner and then movedhim to the ICU. Wheat said, “The doctors andnurses would come out to us, told us what to do,and what was going to happen step by step so weunderstood.”Warner has been told that he coded numeroustimes over the following 48 hours. He remembersnone of it. Doctors say he is lucky not only to bealive, but to have survived with no major braindamage.“I have some short-term memory problems,”says Warner, who is back at work. “I’m thankful tobe alive every day. I try to live a much happier andstress-free life. I want to see my grandchildrenborn.”“I will never forget it,” says Wheat.“St. Anthony’s played a major role in saving mystepdad’s life. It’s pretty miraculous, and prettymind-blowing to know he made it and is as wellas he is. It’s pretty amazing.”From left are KevinGibson, M.D.,Randall Speck,M.D., Dennis Disch,M.D., Joe Warner,Tina Gearhart, R.N.,and Kim DeMerit,R.N. The medicalteam earned theClinical Save Awardfrom the East CentralRegional AdvisoryCouncil.Service FromThe Heart:TAKING CARE OF A TEEN“No one likes being stuckin the hospital, but it’s tentimes worse when you’re ateenager.”Jena Hollinshead, R.N.,B.S.N., remembers theSaturday afternoon in theNeuro-Intensive Care Unitwhen her female patient, whowas waiting for surgery afew days later, couldn’t sit up,couldn’t roll over, and wasstruggling emotionally.“I feel like anything that wecan do to make patient carebetter, we really should do it,”said Hollinshead.“I saw the need for somethingextra for her. Patients havedifferent needs that can be metin different ways. For some,it’s ice cream. For others, it’sholding their hand.”For this patient, Hollinsheadthought a spa day wouldhelp. “I have sisters,” saidHollinshead. “We wouldalways paint each other’s nailsand it always made us feelbetter!”Hollinshead gave the youngwoman a manicure, pedicure,shampoo, and style. She evenspent her own money at thehospital gift shop to buyshampoo so the patient’shair would smell pretty.“She was a lot happier,”remembered Hollinshead.“She smiled a lot more. Shewas a lot more social withher visitors. I think she feltmore confident and more likeherself.”It’s that amazing care forpatients that earned JenaHollinshead the quarterlyService from the HeartAward, presented by theRewards & Recognition Team.Congratulations!Carol Klos (right),Nurse Manager,Surgical ICU, atthe Service fromthe Heart Awards,tells the audiencewhy she nominatedwinner JenaHollinshead for theaward.Spotlight is published quarterly by the Marketing department at St. Anthony’s Medical Center.Writer: Anne Steffens, ext. 6877Photography: Christy Siebert, ext. 6835Graphic design/layout: Stephen Walker, ext. 6875