March 24, 2006

Excellence in action: Police and Security make reunion possible

Time is of the essence in medicine. Working at a fast pace to help patients is routine for most clinicians. Such timeliness was particularly important in the case of a young boy several weeks ago when his care team battled the clock to reunite him with his father, who was traveling back from overseas.

According to Brenda Miller, RN, nurse manager for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), the patient, who was battling cancer, quickly declined and needed to be put on a ventilator immediately to help him breathe. His father was on an international flight heading to Logan Airport in Boston and hadn't arrived yet. Because a ventilator requires a tube in a patient's throat that renders speech impossible, the PICU staff wanted to hold off putting the boy on the breathing machine as long as possible so that he could speak to his father. The staff tried to stave off the intubation — the process of inserting the ventilator tube — all day, but they were running out of time and wanted to investigate getting the father from Logan to the MGH as quickly as possible when he arrived. They made one phone call to MGH Police and Security, and the wheels were put in motion to reunite the family at this critical time.

From left, Bonnie Michelman, director of MGH Police and Security, Goba, O'Brien and Slavin

Tom O'Brien and Jennifer Goba, both with MGH Police and Security, worked rapidly behind the scenes, placing numerous phone calls to local authorities and to Logan Airport to make sure the father was able to get through customs quickly and meet the MGH Police and Security escort that would drive him directly to the hospital. The plan worked flawlessly, and the father was able to hold his son's hand and spend the last five minutes with him before he was intubated.

"When his father arrived, the child beamed," says Miller. "Police and Security's guidance was clearly the only reason the son was able to speak with his father. Without their help, the father never would have made it to the PICU in time."

Miller and the rest of the PICU team were so grateful for O'Brien and Goba's assistance, they nominated Police and Security for an Excellence in Action award, an honor bestowed on MGHers who go above and beyond the call of duty to help patients and colleagues. Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of the hospital, presented the award — a certificate and a catered meal from Nutrition and Food Services — March 8 to the department.

"Through your intervention, the dad was able to talk to his son for five minutes before he was put on the breathing machine," said Slavin. "As a father myself, I can relate to how priceless those five minutes must have been to him. On behalf of the hospital, the doctors and nurses caring for this patient and this family, I want to thank you for all that you did."

To nominate an employee for an Excellence in Action award, contact Mary Cunningham, director of the MGH Service Improvement Department, at mccunningham@partners.org.