COVID-19 SPECIAL SECTION

During 2020 many challenges arose throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Such an impactful event calls for special attention in remembering the year. This section is dedicated to just a few of the stellar examples of true nursing leadership that were seen throughout 2020.

Every day and night, emergency department (ED) doctors and nurses treated patients suffering from COVID-19 — a virus with no cure, few treatment options, and no known immunity. During the pandemic, Methodist Health System staff juggled a steady stream of COVID-19 patients with the more routine — but no less urgent — needs of the ED, including strokes and heart attacks, as well as the worst trauma cases.

“There is no typical day in the ED,” says Jennifer Coffman, MD, medical director of the emergency department at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center. “That is what makes it exciting and challenging at the same time.”

Nurses, as well as ED doctors like Dr. Coffman, can plan ahead but must always be prepared for the unexpected. In this case, the unexpected was a once-ina-century pandemic. Here are some of the ways Methodist’s ED staff has risen to the challenge:

Alonzo has taken new hires and nurse residents under her wing, showing them how treating COVID-19 fits into the daily routine of emergency medicine. “Mentees are a little bit more stressed than usual, but Diana has functioned as a mentor,” says Amanda Peña, BSN, RN, nurse manager in the ED at Methodist Dallas.

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— Amanda Peña, BSN, RN, nurse manager in the emergency department, Methodist Dallas Medical Center

Roland-Edmondson is a rock for her colleagues in the ED. She is always a positive presence and ready to pitch in when a less experienced nurse needs help. Like her fellow RNs, Roland-Edmondson’s spirit of camaraderie helped the team adapt their day-to-day processes early in the pandemic when the guidelines for personal protective equipment and other best practices constantly changed.

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White makes countless calls each month to patients who pass through the ED, among other departments. Sometimes one followup call just won’t do, as was the case with an elderly woman who lived alone and was diagnosed with COVID-19. White called day after day to ensure she was OK.

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RN, CCRN; and Leah Barbee, RN, monitored the symptoms of suspected COVID-19 cases. Nurses like Morrison and Barbee opened their homes to quarantining colleagues so they wouldn’t have to put their families at risk of infection. They also helped others whose spouses were laid off by offering gift cards, food, and other necessities.

Before many people even realized the full, devastating effects of COVID-19, Binnix looked for ways to thwart it. As a trained nurse with a background working in an emergency setting, Binnix has demonstrated strong crisis management skills, ensured staff had the supplies and equipment they needed, and streamlined hospital processes. Because of Binnix, Methodist Charlton had a plan in place for handling the worst-case scenario.

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Nurses and doctors in the ICU and COVID-19 unit now dress head to toe in personal protective equipment (PPE), including isolation gowns, gloves, face shields, and N95 respirator masks. They work 12-hour shifts — on average — and must shuttle in and out of negative-pressure rooms designed to contain the airborne coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Containing the coronavirus has meant keeping out patients’ loved ones, for their own protection. That’s put added emphasis on the care in caregiver, as nurses often play the role of surrogate family members. “The nurses are doing so many jobs,” says Lauren Hoffman, MD, a hospitalist on the medical staff at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. “They really have gone above and beyond.” That teamwork is evident in ICUs and other units across the system and allows Methodist Health System to provide our most critically ill patients the care and compassion they deserve.

As a highly skilled nurse practitioner, Bondoc has embedded herself in ICUs across Methodist Health System, managing the care of patients who need the closest attention. “Margaret has a keen sense of awareness when it comes to patients,” Dr. Shibu Thomas says. “She’s able to stabilize them with her medical knowledge and skill.” Seen to the right

As part of the resource team, Deleon and Pearson are veteran nurses who are accustomed to coming to work and going wherever they’re most needed. They’ve helped lead the COVID-19 unit as it doubled in capacity from 27 to 54 beds, caring for patients and lessexperienced colleagues alike. “Both of them are mothers, so they’ve become mother hens for anyone who comes down there,” says Carol Oran, RN, nurse manager at Methodist Dallas.

Burns is a “whirling dervish” and the “glue that holds the unit together,” says Nurse Manager Dawn Huggins, MSN, RN, COHN-S. A resource to everyone around her, she exudes joy and positivity that can be in short supply on the toughest days. Ruvalcaba “got thrown into the deep end of the pool” as a relatively new charge nurse, Huggins says, but has “taken to the role with aplomb.” She makes sure her fellow nurses have everything they need to provide their critically ill patients with the best care possible.

Gemina fearlessly leads a team of nurses and patient care technicians to treat COVID-19 patients. Recognizing that being quarantined away from their loved ones took a toll on his patients, Gemina helped obtain tablets so that patients could chat online with family members. Gemina has worked 16-hour days to support his staff, and his empathetic leadership style has boosted the unit’s morale.

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While managing a 44-bed unit filled with the hospital’s sickest patients, Allen took a proactive approach by visiting another unit with COVID-19 patients in less dire conditions. There, she showed nurses how to care for patients so they could keep breathing on their own without the need for mechanical ventilation.

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Boehringer provides exceptional leadership and works closely with physicians to build relationships among nursing and the ancillary departments, creating teams that respect one another and have one focus in mind: the patients. The morale is high, the energy is vibrant, and it’s like the entire unit is a family when Boehringer leads the charge.

Both Jackson and Cooper had just begun working as nurse managers when the pandemic struck. Thrust into new roles, neither missed a beat. Jackson applies her expertise as a former trauma nurse to running one of two COVID-19 units at the hospital. Cooper’s team cares for patients on ventilators who require constant care.

Since joining the ICU team last fall, Yeap has embraced team nursing and has served as charge nurse, a runner, and a primary nurse for COVID-19 patients. Her positive attitude and unwavering professionalism make Yeap a role model and an inspiration to the ICU team.

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Turner developed a nursing model to help expand our ICU capacity during the pandemic. She partnered her ICU staff with COVID-19 unit nurses to form mentoring teams that share four patients a shift. Her innovative approach gives patients who need ventilators the around-the-clock care they require.

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In a year where it took everyone’s best effort to continue to provide the best care to our patients, it’s important to recognize that nurses at Methodist Health System are at practice both in traditional bedside roles as well as corporate and support functions. As care continues to evolve, nurses are provided many areas of opportunities to utilize their skills. Whether it’s in case management, quality, or as a nurse navigator, these nursing support functions are vital to the success of our organization and deserve to be recognized for their hard work. The following two groups of nurses were pivotal to helping Methodist transverse the pandemic.

Employee health nurses serve a vital role in our facilities every day. Pre-placement physicals, TB screenings, fit testing, job injury assessments, and vaccine administration are just some of their regular duties that keep this small but mighty team busy. During the course of 2020, this team worked tirelessly as they screened employees for COVID-19 exposure, identified source cases and traced contacts, set up testing and notification results, assigned quarantine length, and coordinated employees, return to work after quarantine. Certainly a task to conquer considering the Methodist workforce exceeds 10,000 people.

Infection prevention has always had a pivotal role at each of our facilities in order to ensure the upmost in patient safety, but 2020 challenged this group in many new ways. This group is no stranger to infectious diseases, but COVID-19 was a new beast to conquer. Initially working with minimal data, this team trained our staff to protect themselves against COVID-19 and keep our patients safe while in our facilities by learning from their peers across the country. This team is made up of many former bedside nurses as well as members with a background in public health. Former bedside nurses, such as Cheryl Wherry (far right), infection prevention manager at Methodist Mansfield, utilize their nursing skills daily in order to be successful in their role. Wardel says, “My nursing background allows me to approach training and recommendations to nurses through a truly empathetic lens. I fully understand what goes on in a typical bedside nursing shift and all of the things nurses have to handle. I feel this allows me to offer reasonable solutions that help us meet our goals of keeping our patients safe and free from infection.”