OR Team Wins Patient Safety Star Award
November 4, 2020
An OR team was the winner of Stanford Health Care's October 2020 Patient Safety Star Award. The team consisted of Dr. Sophia Turkmani-Bazzi, Dr. Will Watkins, Anne Marie Lycan RN, Don Williams RN, Monica Smith, and our own Drs. David Spain, Carlie Arbaugh, and Ioana Baiu.
"The Patient Safety Star Award is presented to individual(s) who are nominated by their colleagues for being proactive and directly contributing to the safety of our patients here at Stanford Health Care. The nominations are then voted on by our leadership panel, and a winner is identified," said Mia Singh, a patient safety consultant at SHC.
According to Dr. Sarah Goldhbaer-Fieber, who presented the award, the anesthesia resident noticed disturbing vital signs during a routine appendectomy indicating the patient was experiencing malignant hyperthermia. The team acted swiftly and the patient's life was saved.
"In this situation, the team was able to recognize and manage a very rare complication during surgery, and it was a great example of the teamwork present at SHC," said Singh.
The team was nominated for the award by Dr. Karen Frush, a clinical professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine.