Surgical Spotlight: Abby Mira RN, BSN

Role: I have been a Registered Nurse for 12 years now. My first three years as a Registered Nurse was in Borgess Kalamazoo, MI. I moved to Wisconsin with my family and continued my career on the 5NE Neuro Rehab Unit at Froedtert Hospital in 2012, transferring to the Surgery department, NEO POD, in 2017. Teamwork: Since I started at Froedtert, I have been involved in many committees. I am a level 4 RN and became a Professional Development Pathway coach. I assist the development of new nurses by serving as a preceptor, creating posters and working at the educational skills fairs. In addition, I became a COVID testing champion, EPIC champion and tested junior medical students on their foley catheter insertion skills.

Outside of work: I’m currently the WI chapter president of the Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA) and also a member of Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), Chairman of Philippine Center Free Medical Clinic (PCFMC) Health Fair Committee, and member of Filipino American Association of Wisconsin (FAAWIS). On my off days, I sometimes volunteer to give assistance to our veterans and elderly as my way of giving back to the community. I was born and raised in the Philippines, and I moved here in the US back in 1999. I can speak both English and Tagalog. What is your favorite meal to cook and why?: I like to cook Filipino food such as eggrolls, pancit (rice noodles), chicken or pork adobo, sticky rice and banana sweet rolls. Sharing these unique dishes with my co-workers makes me so happy! Name something you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t done yet: I have always wanted to try parasailing, drive a motorcycle and to travel to Asia and Europe.

Each month we’ll spotlight someone from one of our Perioperative services. It could be you!

Welcome to the 2021-2022 Residents/Fellows! Picture rosters are attached to the Periop Pulse email

June 30, 2021

BETTER TOGETHER - PERIOP PULSE A monthly acknowledgement of amazing news and people throughout Perioperative Services

“Lessons Learned from Lombardi”

By Paul Linsky, MD

Assistant Professor of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin Associate Program Director, Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery Growing up in Alabama, football was everything. We lived, breathed, ate and worshipped football. So naturally, as a child, all I wanted to do was play football. In all, I spent 11 years of my life playing football, all the way through college. During that time, I was around many coaches. At the top of my list was my high school head coach, Coach Buddy Anderson. Coach Anderson wasn’t just a good coach – he was a great coach. Not only was he inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame, he is the all-time winningest coach in Alabama history on any level (including Bear Bryant and Nick Saban). The first time I met Coach Anderson, he was driving us to the high school for a work out. The first thing he told us was that from now on, we would need to live on “Lombardi time”. Someone asked what that meant and he replied, “If you’re fifteen minutes early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late.”

Coach Anderson taught me and countless other young men many valuables lessons. Some lessons came directly. Coach Anderson would quote many great coaches all the time, especially Vince Lombardi. One quote from Coach Lombardi that really resonated with me then, and even more now, is: “The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined efforts of each individual.”

The great coaches, like Coach Lombardi and Coach Anderson, all know that sports are metaphors for life. Everyone has their favorites. However, football is the sport that is most true to life. Why Football? It takes scores of people in varied roles to make a championship team. Also, despite requiring everyone, typically, only a few get credit for what they do. When I am between cases, I like to listen and watch what our team does. I am constantly impressed with how many hard-working team members we have to do what we do every day. Patients will never know what it takes to get them into, through and out of a successful operation. This has been even truer during the current pandemic. We as the surgeons get the credit; however, we are only one part of the team that would fail without everyone else. Every day, we change the lives of the patients that roll into and out of the OR. No role is inconsequential. We win as a team and lose as a team. We have a great team here and we win a lot more than we lose. We are a team that I am proud to be a part of every day. As Coach Lombardi pointed out many years ago, our achievements are because of each member of our team. None of us have done it alone and we need each other to keep delivering the excellent care that we give. Each day when you come to work, I want you to remember two key things. First, you and what you do are important, no matter your role. Second, we run on “Lombardi time.”

Thank you all for that you do.

Thoughts at the Scrub Sink

Coach Buddy Anderson

Coach Vince Lombardi

Paul Picciurro Manager

Surgical EVS Support

Lionell Perry III Manager, Patient Transport

Brandon Rodak Supervisor, Patient Transport

Brian Rosenberg Sr. Operations Manager EVS and Linen Services

Jason Morgan Supervisor, EVS

(2nd & 3rd Shift Periop team)

Transport and EVS: Effective June 18, 2021, the Periop EVS team formally became part of the FMLH EVS department, and the Periop Transport team part of the FMLH Transport Services department. By realigning the reporting structure for these teams, each will have improved opportunities for standardizing workflows and procedures, and a broader mix of resources for flexing to meeting customer needs, including the IPP.

Let’s introduce the departments’ leadership teams! Perioperative EVS will be supported by:

Perioperative Transport will be supported by:

Introductions

Kellie Brown, MD and Gary Seabrook, MD operated together last week in Hybrid OR IPP 30 Dr. Seabrook retires June 30, having arrived at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin as a surgical intern on July 1, 1982. He joined the Vascular Surgery Faculty in 1989, after completing the MCW General Surgery Resident and Vascular Fellowship. Dr. Brown completed the MCW Vascular Fellowship in 2000, and she will succeed Dr. Seabrook as Senior Medical Director for Peri-Operative Services for Froedtert Hospital. Congratulations Dr. Seabrook and Dr. Brown!

(Photo by Peter Rossi, MD) Sterile Processing Achievements – Triple Crown: Congratulations to Hannah Schroeder, SPD Education Coordinator, and Jacqueline Rodriguez, Certified SPD Tech, for achieving “Triple Crown” status for internationally-recognized sterile processing certifications. The International Association of Healthcare Central Service and Materiel Management (IAHCSMM) confers certifications based on technical work experience in sterile processing, an examination to test knowledge, and annual continuing education credits. Earning the “Triple Crown” represents the pinnacle of quality, patient safety, and professionalism within Sterile Processing:

• Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST) • Certified Instrument Specialist (CIS) • Certified Healthcare Leader (CHL)

Additionally, Hannah recently earned a 4th certification, Certified Endoscope Reprocessor (CER)

THANK YOU to Linda Shimek from your team members: "HUGE THANK YOU AND OMG! Linda you were able to actively identify a relief plan... or more like a tactical approach, to allow 10 of our team members the opportunity for them to experience and perform a deeper dive when handling the Robot. The outcome will be 3 fold, as the patient deserves a highly competent member at the bedside, surgeon satisfaction will go in a positive direction, and the team member builds their confidence. Again THANK YOU for all the time and effort put forth to accomplish."

Recognition and Thanks

UNOS Survey Kudos from Lisa Spencer, CTVT RN Educator: “UNOS completed a virtual survey of our program at Froedtert & MCW. Happy to share that we had a great survey! What makes me even more proud of this team is that, within the entire survey, the Operating Room itself got top marks. Donna Hafemeister, Rachel Daggett, Jen Schussman, and I spent about an hour speaking with the surveyors. They also did chart audits and vessel log audits going back as far as two years.

The feedback I received yesterday from the Transplant Program director was “ABO verification and vessel log scored 100% - a wonderful result!” The surveyor also said this was a “rarity” given the volume of transplants that we do each year. I just wanted to send all of you the warm and fuzzies and say thanks for everything you do. It’s because you take the time to do a good job that our transplant practices in the OR have become a standard of care. It’s also due to all your hard work as preceptors that we have been able to grow our teams while maintaining high standards. I’m so proud of this team. And to also pass along the thanks of Cathy Jacobson and Mark Behl - “Thanks to all of you for your teamwork, dedication, and perseverance to achieve these results. You should all be very proud of the work you do for our patients and their families. Congratulations!” Thanks from Dr. Joseph Schwab to Anesthesia: “I just wanted to pass on some well-deserved kudos for Dr. Plambeck and CRNA (Elise) Ritter from our interactions today. Briefly, we were working together on a hip fracture case in a patient with poor cardiac function. The fracture is now almost 5 days old and we were there to perform a total hip replacement. Early in the case we encountered some substantial bleeding that ultimately was determined to be coming from the bone (therefore difficult to control until the replacement is in). While some local hyperemia is expected in a fracture that is a few days old, this was beyond what we normally expect. When we first encountered the bleeding we informed our anesthesia colleagues about it and were assured that his vitals were normal. While we continued to work I noted that our anesthesia team was also beginning to prepare for any physiologic changes to the patient, even though he appeared stable at the time. Sure enough, a few minutes later the patient’s vitals began to catch up with the blood loss as we continued to work. With the communication between our teams and the quick preparation by our anesthesia team, they were ready with blood products and medication support. By the end of the case the bleeding was controlled and the patient was stable with some additional support given his cardiac condition. I can’t tell you how appreciative I am, as both a surgeon and an administrative leader in our health system, to see teamwork like that where a potentially life-threatening change during a surgery is dealt with calmly, competently, and thoroughly… quite literally saving that patient’s life. Kudos to CRNA (Elise) Ritter, Dr. Plambeck, and the whole OR team for their teamwork.”

Recognition and Thanks Recognition and Thanks