Published December 12, 2024
Greg Waterfield, lead tech, CT Scan, won the October Patient Experience Award for Caring and Excellence for saving a patient’s life. The patient was in the middle of a scan when Waterfield noticed she had stopped listening to instructions and had a significant change in her mental status. When the patient became unresponsive, Waterfield called an adult medical emergency code and performed chest compressions until the Code Team took over. The patient regained consciousness and was transferred to the Surgical ICU. The next day, when the patient returned to CT Scan, she made a point of seeing Waterfield and thanking him for saving her life.
Johanna Brito, respiratory therapist, received the Patient Experience Award for Caring and Excellence for providing compassion, understanding, sympathy and support to a daughter whose father was on comfort measures only (CMO). Despite some difficulties that prompted an RRT alert, Brito never left the patient’s side. She held his hand and comforted the daughter, doing everything she could to help the patient pass peacefully.
It is rare for a respiratory therapist to be so closely involved with CMO patients, especially once they are removed from a respiratory device. Brito's story is one of genuine compassion and care.
