First A Nurse: No Matter Where, No Matter What | Page 13
The New Year’s Eve service at the Perfecting Church in
Detroit, Michigan, began quite typically. The congregation
started filing in until all the seats were filled. After the praise
and worship, the pastor took the pulpit and the service
officially began. Minutes into the service, the security staff
summoned the Emergency Response Team (ERT) and they
burst into action. Two pregnant women were in need of
medical assistance—one with issues related to preeclampsia,
and one in pre-term labor. At the same time, a visitor who
had been rushed to make it to church on time had taken her
insulin but neglected to eat.
Finally, all was quiet for the ERT—but only for a few
moments. They were soon summoned to the back of
the church where a member of the congregation was
found lying on the floor complaining of chest pain.
He presented in typical cardiac event fashion—chest
pressure, diaphoresis, weak and erratic pulse.
The ERT responded, supplied with a pulse oximeter, a blood
pressure kit, and “the prayers of the saints,” said Rhonda
Conner-Warren, a member of the team. Their first mission in
such a situation is: “Get calm in the room, hold the person’s
hand, make eye contact, and speak clearly and succinctly.”
The team stabilized the man and the ambulance arrived
within a few minutes.
One Nurse, Many Roles
Conner-Warren has many roles as a Spartan Nurse. She is
a member of the College of Nursing clinical faculty for online
courses. She serves as a clinical instructor for pediatrics
at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit and at Focus:
HOPE—a Detroit-based nonprofit organization that seeks
to improve the health conditions and the environment of
residents of Hope Village, a 100-block radius around the
facility. She is also a pediatric nurse practitioner at Health
Centers of Detroit.
Bringing Her Gifts Back to the
Community That Raised Her
Conner-Warren is consistently involved with giving back
to the Flint community—her hometown. She helps run
several health fairs each year, and makes sure that Flint
residents have access to get their lead levels tested.
“I have to keep coming back until it’s right,” she says.
“I never tire of helping.”
She says about that New Year’s Eve service two years
ago: “That’s one night I will never forget. It made me forever
grateful for my College of Nursing training.
“I’ve learned from my pastor that people do not care
how much you know until they know how much you care,”
she adds.
Because of one Spartan Nurse and the Emergency Response
Team, all of the “patients” from that New Year’s Eve church
service are in good health and doing well. The woman who
was in preeclampsia is the mother of a healthy two-year-old
girl. The heart attack survivor told her: “I don’t remember your
face, but I remember your voice.”
“To some, I’m “Doc,” or “Dr. R,” or Sis Warren. To all, I am
a Spartan Nurse.”
Grace in a Time of Need
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