Carmelita Chavez Recognized for Compassion and Collaboration

Congratulations Carmelita Chavez, RN, for being named a Hot Springs Service Hero!

She was nominated by a coworker who noticed Carmelita living out our mission in the Emergency Department.

There was a patient who needed emergency surgery. Unfortunately, the patient didn’t speak English. This usually isn’t an issue with the availability of interpreter IPAD services, but this patient was not fully alert or oriented. 

They were unable to contact the family by phone to notify them of the patient’s condition and verify consent over the phone for treatment of this patient. Carmelita took it upon herself to call the police in the county the family lived in and requested that a Spanish speaking officer do a welfare check on the family. 

Because of Carmelita making this happen, the ED team was able to notify the family of the patient’s condition as well as receive verbal consent for treatment of this patient. 

“This coworker represented our core values by showing compassion for the patient and family; collaborating with other resources to achieve the best outcome possible for the patient; exceeding expectations to ensure family was aware of the situation versus just letting the patient undergo emergent surgery and letting the family find out when they realized the patient was missing. I’m very proud to work with such amazing people and know that we have coworkers that will always go above and beyond to ensure families know about their loved ones.”