The Extra Mile

Good morning!

The compassion, empathy and expertise each of you bring to your calling make a world of difference to families who are worried for their loved ones. What each of us does, added together, creates a positive care experience.

The Davion family of Sumrall experienced first-hand the quality of care we provide individually and as a team.

Jamey and Jennifer Davion’s daughter, Shelby, had developed Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) during the height of the surge of the COVID-19 Delta variant, and was flown to Children’s of Mississippi from Hattiesburg because she needed a higher level of care.

Here are excerpts of an email from the family:

On Aug. 6^th, our daughter was transferred from Forrest General Hospital via helicopter to Children’s of Mississippi’s Emergency Department and subsequently admitted to the Pediatric ICU. Every staff member we encountered throughout our admission was absolutely amazing.

You are truly blessed to have such wonderful professionals working for you. Not only do they have invaluable knowledge and display exceptional care, but they exhibit kindness and compassion to both the patient and the parents. As worried parents, we asked many questions, and we felt that our concerns were always heard and addressed in an expedited fashion.

Understanding that all your staff are exceptional, we would like to recognize a few that we feel went above and beyond their normal duties:

• Samantha Holm, an ER nurse assigned to Shelby
• Anna Claire Huff, Mandy Dickerson and Zach Puckett, who were her Pediatric ICU nurses
• Medical student Anna Seidenburg. She connected with us on a personal level and just checked on us so many times
• Dr. Toni Keilers (pediatrics resident)
• Dr. Gaylen Sanders (chief pediatrics resident)
• Rachel Schulte, the nurse assigned to Shelby in the Batson Tower
• Olivia Phillips, her occupational therapist
• Dr. Laura Arnold (pediatric hematologist)

From the bottom of our hearts, a very special thank you to Dr. Carrie Henderson and Dr. Linda Ray for their unbelievable knowledge, compassion, attentiveness, and care. God truly blessed both of them with brilliant minds, and we are forever grateful to them for treating our daughter.

When this mother’s email began to circulate around to members of the Children’s ED staff, it prompted one nurse, Amanda Coleman, to extend even further the list of people whose participation in this patient’s care led to a very positive experience for her and her family.

Here are some excerpts of an email Amanda sent to Ellen Hansen, chief nursing and clinical services officer for Children’s of Mississippi:

I want to take a few moments to shine a light on our Peds ER and PICU teams.

Monday (this was the day Shelby Davion arrived to Children’s) was one of the most challenging shifts of my nursing career. Patient volume was high, and acuity was higher. On top of that, we had two call-ins. Despite several odds stacked against our favor, everyone pulled together, rolled up their sleeves, and got to work. We were a cohesive team caring for the children of Mississippi in the best way we know how. We have an amazing team who works together and puts the patients before themselves. We had several PICU boarders and had to intubate two additional patients.

• Dr. Puja Craddock and Dr. Catherine Faulk are rock stars, along with our wonderful NPs Kayla Willis and Annaliese Johnson. They handled everything with professionalism, patience, and grace.
• Pediatric Emergency Department nurse manager Kesha Prystupa and RN Brad Vanlandingham helped staff, complete orders, and smooth patient flow to help me run the unit.
• Dr. Fernando Gomez, chief of pediatric emergency medicine, came in during his off time to help staff.
• Dr. Jenny Hong, Children’s of Mississippi assistant chief medical officer, came down and helped room patients.
• Wesley Smith, director of Children’s Emergency and Critical Care Services, helped staff intake.
• Nurse practitioner Nikki Mayo helped administer medications to PICU boarders and Gordon Gartrell, PICU nurse manager, helped make room for them upstairs.
• And on top of that, Erika Weil and Morgan Litchliter, PICU charge nurses, transported the patients from the ED to the PICU so the ED staff could continue caring for the rest of our patients.
• Dr. Matthew Maready relieved Dr. Faulk that day. He came in running, helping clean rooms, and saw patients in the hallway to maintain flow. He’s amazing as well!

I am so incredibly grateful for the amount of help we received from our PICU family. I know I can speak for everyone when I say thank you. Thank you for the help. Thank you for putting the patients and teamwork first.
 
I am proud to be a Children’s of Mississippi Pediatric ED nurse. And I’m even more proud of my colleagues for how well they handled that day.

Doctors, nurses, specialists, residents and medical students working together to help one little girl recover from a serious condition exemplifies the spirit of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. That this collaboration happens each day, improving care for patients, should give us all pride in the care we provide together.

Thank you to everyone named here and I’m sure there are many more that played a role in this family having a positive patient experience. Going the extra mile, each of us and together as a team, will help us in our journey to A Healthier Mississippi.