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VALHALLA – When Westchester Medical Center’s heart transplant team receives a call about a potential donor heart, nurses are the first to respond. They check the numbers, assess travel time, and alert the surgeon. They go with the doctor to retrieve the organs. They stay with the patient before, during, and after the transplant to see how the patient is doing for years to come.
They are, in many ways, the heart of the heart transplant team.
“These patients are very sick and very scared. They are facing a future filled with so many unknowns,” he said. said Kathleen McClink, one of four nurses on call.
Day-to-day support continues long after the transplant, McClinck said. “Once they leave the hospital, we follow them for the rest of their lives.”
The relationships they build with their patients were evident during a recent visit to Westchester Medical Center’s fourth-floor cardiac unit.
Richard Greil of Suffern, who received a heart transplant in December 2022, hugged three of the four nurses who made WMC’s heart transplant team laugh.
He spoke with McClinck, the NP who specializes in his case, about his children and grandchildren, and about an upcoming trip he is planning with his partner Linda Costa. They are leaving for Italy soon.
They truly are lifelong friends.
“We keep them close because they are such a precious gift,” McClinck said of his patients. “We truly value this gift of life.”
On a journey of the heart
Team nurses spend one week per month on-call. Therefore, the entire team knows all current and past patients.
When each NP’s turn comes, preparations are complete.
“You can always get an offer,” McClinck said. NP is the first line. It is up to them to decide whether to take that information to a cardiologist for review.
“Then we go to the patient and give them the news,” McClinck said. “The wait is finally over.”
The cardiologist and NP then head to the donor hospital to examine and transport the heart on-site. Travel by car, helicopter, or charter flight from Westchester County Airport.
On-call nurses also prepare the operating room, prepare medications, and obtain patient consent.
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The team has completed 31 transplants in 2023 and, as of last month, three transplants for 2024. McClink said he coordinated two successful transplants last week while on-call.
lifelong bond
A dramatic rush and a cooler mind may seem like the best job. But interacting with former patients years after their transplants has its own value.
Patients often remain in the ICU in a coma for long periods of time. “What’s crazy about this whole operation is that the patient is so sick and then they get the transplant and they’re literally cured,” McClinck said.
Nurses like McClinck, Vincey Abraham, Elaine Valencia and Erin Jennings began their work 10 or 20 years ago, often before joining the team, by monitoring patients undergoing heart transplants. There is.
The nurses on the cardiology floor spoke of organ donors with respect, saying several times during recent visits that they provide the gift of life.
“It may sound like a technical term, but if you’ve ever witnessed a patient’s progress, it’s not,” McClinck says.
Grail recalled the 10 days he spent in the hospital, hooked up to a machine and waiting for their heart to be found.
At 6 feet 3 inches tall, he knew the transplant could take a long time. Both he and Costa said McClinck was key to staying informed and supported during the wait. And it continues today.
“She was definitely a handholder,” Costa said.
Mr. Greil added that Mr. McClink was “always available to answer any of my silly questions.” This access “has significantly reduced stress and anxiety,” he said.
“I can’t complain at all.”
The story of Grail’s porting is well known. FDNY Firefighter Billy Moon. The 6-foot-4-inch firefighter, a healthy 47-year-old, suffered injuries to his head. His family donated five organs after his death.
billy moon foundation Continue to support organ donation.
Dr. Takashi Ohirachief of heart transplant surgery at West Chester Medical University, said the nurses are providing medical and emotional support.
“It’s always good not to remember the surgeon’s face, because it means going back to normal life,” Ohira said. But patients know that NPs are allies, he says. This shows that our nursing team is committed to each patient, every day, to meet their every need. “They’re everywhere.”
Greil, who turns 64 this month, said he plans to go from strength to strength and have more adventures. “I can’t complain at all. I’d be stupid if I did,” he said.
Nancy Cutler writes about people and policy for lohud.com and the USA Today Network New York. Contact [email protected] her @nancyrockland X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and threads.
