Nurses: At the Heart of Life-Changing Moments

*This article was featured in the Fiscal Year 2019 Philanthropy Report.

We share these portraits with deep appreciation and admiration for nurses across Doylestown Health and the unparalleled care they provide every day.

Inside Doylestown Hospital on any given day, hundreds of patients, physicians, caregivers, volunteers, and visitors cross paths. Treatments and procedures are performed—some are complex, and some routine. At the exact same moment, a patient arrives with chest pain in the Emergency Department, a healthy baby girl is born, a patient leaves with a knee replacement, a volunteer counsels a heart surgery patient, and a mom rings the bell to signify the end of her chemotherapy regimen. Each day at Doylestown Hospital is different, yet life-changing moments are constant.

At the heart of these life-changing moments are our nurses. They work tirelessly to care for patients in our community every hour of every day and are united in placing the needs of the patients first. With grace, knowledge, and warmth, they guide patients and families through some of the most joyful and painful times in life. No gesture is too small or too great for nurses who, with the same quiet confidence, can offer a patient a hand to hold or a surgeon an instrument.

Because of their dedication to education and training, nurses across Doylestown Health are prepared for anything, from stitches to stents. Hundreds of letters and comments from grateful patients and their families share stories of nurses that go above and beyond to explain a complicated procedure, comfort a family member, and deliver expert care with kindness and the utmost professionalism. The nursing teams have helped Doylestown Hospital achieve national recognition for patient safety and quality, year after year.

We visited just a few of our nurses at Doylestown Hospital on a Thursday afternoon in August, 2019. Our goal: to catch a glimpse of them doing what they do best—caring for patients with expertise and compassion.

OR | Barb McGuinness was drawn to work at Doylestown Hospital because of its reputation for excellence in patient care. She’s also found a “great team in my colleagues in the operating room. We listen to and respect each other, which makes it safer for our patients and a more pleasant work environment,” says Barb.

Patients of Doylestown Hospital have access to complex procedures such as the Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator (DEIP) because of the expert, fellowship-trained surgeons and surgical teams on staff. “For cancer patients who have had a mastectomy, Dr. Angotti and Dr. Tamburrino will take skin and fat cells from the abdomen or another area and create a natural-looking breast with its own blood supply,” says Barb. With the new operating rooms on the horizon, Barb is “excited about how we’ll do even more to enhance the safety of our patients and staff, and utilize technology in these new ORs,” she says. “It’s awesome how the leadership of the hospital treats the nursing staff. It makes a difference for us and our patients.”

ICU | Sharon Held carefully monitors the heart rate and oxygen saturation for critically ill patients in the Intensive Care Unit, among her other responsibilities in this fast-paced unit. Of the many tools nurses use to care for patients, “communication and collaboration are essential. We work as a team and I can count on my co-workers,” says Sharon.

“Watching the progress of the construction of the Cardiovascular and Critical Care Pavilion has been amazing,” she adds. “Our patients and their families will get to enjoy beautiful new rooms with natural light, and we will have more space for advanced technology and for our critical care teams to work together.”

IMU | After 23 years at Doylestown Health, Tara Sparling has confidence in the way “we genuinely care about our patients.” Today, as float nurse and unit coordinator, she’s managing transfers and ensuring patients are ready for discharge. “Nurses do so much more now. We anticipate people’s needs. Formally and informally we are case managers, making sure that patients have their care plans in place so they can continue to heal after they leave the hospital,” says Tara.

Among the many characteristics she admires about Doylestown Hospital, “I think it’s amazing that we are still independent,” says Tara. “It keeps us who we are.”

NICU | In the Level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Suzanne Ryan cares for the hospital’s tiniest patients. “In Level II we take care of preemies born at 32 weeks of gestation. Right now, we have a few babies that just need to gain some weight before they can go home,” says Suzanne. As a nurse educator, Suzanne values the way Doylestown Hospital supports one-on-one patient education. “I can speak to this from what I do with new parents and from personal experience when my husband was a patient.” Being on the other side of the bed allowed Suzanne to observe her nursing colleagues.

“The nursing staff here is excellent. My husband was a patient and I witnessed it. The nurses in the catheterization lab and IVU were amazing and the quality of care here is just incredible,” she adds.

ED | Every day is unique in the Doylestown Hospital Emergency Department. “Today I’m caring for a patient who had a stroke,” says Chris Tranchitella. With a background as a travel nurse, Chris wanted to put down roots and “sought to work at a top-quality community-based ED,” he says. “I found that at Doylestown Hospital. There’s a hometown feel that you get here, but at the same time, you’re receiving clinically advanced care—often beyond what you’d experience at a larger institution,” says Chris. Among the many benefits he’s found working as a nurse at Doylestown Health, Chris points out that “we are really well-supported with the resources we have to do our jobs and take care of our patients. The personal attention we give patients is exceptional. I think it’s because this hospital was started by and enriched by the community.”

CV/ICU | Joanne Friel appreciates that Doylestown Hospital is preparing to expand cardiovascular services. “Right now, I have two patients—one has atrial fibrillation and another is preparing for open heart surgery. It’s always busy,” Joanne says of her unit. No matter how busy it gets, “we treat our patients like family and we can do that because we work as a team. Our communication is excellent—among nurses all the way up to management.” After 16 years at Doylestown Hospital, Joanne remains “grateful every day I made the move to come work here.”

CV/IVU | Doylestown is one of only a few hospitals in the area performing the complex transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) surgery. Sarah Furness will be one-on-one with her TAVR patient for eight to 12 hours post-op. In the new year, Sarah and her unit will move to the Cardiovascular and Critical Care Pavilion, an expansion that allows patients to remain in the same room as they recover and their care levels change. “I can’t wait for the new pavilion to open,” says Furness. “As nurses, we were invited to be part of the design process and I’m excited for the new unit, because we’ll get to stay with patients pre- and post-op with the new setup. Our amazing program will have room to grow, too,” she added.

Sarah also acknowledges the importance of funding for continuing education. With support from the Nursing Scholarship Program, she received her certification in critical care nursing. “I think it’s just one of the ways Doylestown Health truly supports nursing and patient care,” she says.

LDRP | After 30 years at Doylestown Hospital, Val Narisi still considers it an “honor to be a part of the most special time of a couple’s life—the birth of their child.” With approximately 1,400 births per year in the VIA Maternity Center at Doylestown Health, the labor and delivery unit is “always busy,” says Val, who is assisting a mother in labor and helping a new mom bond with her newborn. The relationship among the nurses and the physicians “is one of the reasons it feels like such a family here,” says Val. “It’s a really supportive environment and that allows us to take such great care of our patients. I have always felt valued as a nurse, by my colleagues, our patients, and the community.”

Honor a Caregiver

We are inspired every day by the life-changing work of our nurses. Please consider making a gift today in honor of a nurse who has touched your life, or the life of a loved one. For more information, contact Doylestown Health Foundation at 215.345.2009.

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