Without batting an eye

Scrubbing for surgery wasn’t how Telma Ramirez planned on spending her day off last Friday. But that was before the VGH OR nurse heard the call for help.

A child was in need of retinal surgery at BC Children’s & Women’s (BCCW), and our own Dr. Andrew Merkur would be performing the surgery. Both Andrew and BCCW anticipated a long and arduous surgery. And, so, it was felt that it would be in the patient’s best interests to team up, creating two opportunities for VGH OR nurses to lend their expertise.

Without batting an eye, both Telma and Tanis Wong volunteered.

“I feel so fortunate to work with such amazing people,” says Dr. Merkur. “With such short notice we were able to formulate a strategy and put together an ace surgical team.”

“It’s an exemplary example of nursing professionals across two organizations working together to provide optimal patient care,” agrees Janet Lowe, VGH patient services manager for the ORs.

And, more examples are to follow.

Patsy Aplas, head nurse for the VGH OR Ophthalmology Program, will be working with Dr. Merkur and Carmina Gogal, patient care coordinator, BCCW Opthamology, for future collaborations to support retinal cases.

“These cases are by far the hardest I deal with,” he explains. “Last Friday’s case took about five and a half hours, which is unheard of in adult cases. Together, we can go the distance for patients.”