ED Nursing Archives – April 1, 2007
April 1, 2007
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Georgia hospital hit by F3 tornado — All patients evacuated through the ED
Most ED nurse managers are prepared to respond to a disaster in their communities, but what do you do when your hospital is the disaster? An F3 tornado struck Americus, GA, after 9 p.m. on March 1, 2007, and Sumter Regional Hospital was directly in the path of harm. -
How to set up emergency treatment area at a church
When patients were evacuated from Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, GA, after an F3 tornado hit on March 1, 2007, a temporary treatment center was set up next to the shelter area inside the town's First Baptist Church. -
Nearby hospital accepted patients after evacuation
After an F3 tornado severely damaged Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, GA, and led to an evacuation of all patients, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, GA, was designated as one of the accepting hospitals. During the evacuation, Phoebe Putney accepted 45 patients, which included inpatients and emergency patients from Sumter Regional. -
Don't withhold thrombolytics due to age
If a 67-year-old woman with acute ischemic stroke came to your ED two hours after onset of symptoms, you most likely would consider this patient as a candidate for treatment with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV t-PA). But what if the patient were 91 years old? -
Make your 'nightmare' IV cases easier
Try to remember the most "difficult stick" you ever had when placing a peripheral intravenous (IV) line. If you could have used ultrasound to locate the patient's veins at that moment, imagine how much easier it would have been for you and your patient. -
Nurses say 5-level triage is more reliable for children
A growing number of ED nurses now use five-level triage systems, but not many studies have evaluated the use of these systems in children. New research says that a new five-level triage system, the Soterion Rapid Triage System, possesses high inter-rater reliability and validity when used to triage children younger than 13 years of age. -
Comply with requirements for critical lab values
Failing to document that a critical lab value was read back, if your ED's policy requires this. Failing to realize that there are long delays in reporting urgent test results to ED physicians.