A Story About Who We Are
Yesterday, I received an email from a faculty member who shared a story of an experience filled with collaboration, communication and high-quality care. This saved a patient’s life. I want to thank Drs. Mickelson, Aldrugh, Parker, and Rahban. They are the stars of today’s story. The high level of care we give to every patient makes me proud to call UMass and the Department of Medicine home. I want to ask that you share similar stories so we can celebrate each other and recognize the excellence among us.
Dr. Jared Mickelson, DO, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine was highlighted for making a challenging diagnosis in a critically ill patient. Dr. Mickelson immediately contacted Dr. Parker, who was a CCU attending at another campus. Dr. Parker jumped in the car and joined Dr. Mickelson at the patient’s bedside. They realized the patient needed an emergency pericardiocentesis, a procedure often performed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. Dr. Summer Aldrugh gathered a pericardiocentesis kit at the University Campus and alerted Dr. Youssef Rahban, a talented cardiac interventionalist. Both drove to Memorial and surprised the team with the pericardiocentesis kit and the procedure was performed successfully. The fact that the pulmonary/critical care team, cardiology team, and interventional team all worked so well together gave this patient the best chance of success and reflects the great teamwork that happens on a daily basis here at UMass. The patient did well as a result of this incredible teamwork.