NURSES' WEEK AND HOSPITAL WEEK: PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HEROES OF OUR HOSPITALS NOEL HAMILTON, ORTHO/NEURO RN, is an exceptional nurse at Methodist Hospital | Northeast. A patient on the unit since March 10 had COVID in January and was found to have a left lower extremity thrombus. He was started on anticoagulation at that time, but returned in February for severe leg pain. He had severe thrombus of his arteries, which developed ischemia, and he unfortunately had to have an above-the-knee amputation. He was discharged to Rehab, where his wound dehisced and was readmitted to inpatient for a debridement and wound vac placement.
The patient was uninsured and needed a wheelchair to regain his feeling of independence. Despite case management efforts, we were unsuccessful in getting the patient one. Noel, who has taken care of Mr. Emerson several times during his stay with us, reached out to his church and was able to obtain a brand new wheelchair for the patient through donation. As you can imagine, the patient was beyond happy that he could now move around outside of his room and feel some independence that he once lost.
It was a life-changing mission; not only for Methodist Children’s Heart Institute’s lead pediatric cardiovascular interventional specialist,
JACOB SHOOPMAN, R.T.(R)(VI) but also for the children he helped treat in Tanzania. “These children are dealt a bad hand in life and we’re here to slip an extra ace under their sleeves to give them the chance to live a normal life without health restrictions,” Shoopman said. In March, Shoopman joined pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Mary Porisch, on a mission trip with the faith-based organization, For Hearts and Souls. “As the only nonphysician in the group, I was honored to be invited,” Shoopman said. Shoopman and Dr. Porisch were there to help establish One New 32 | Methodist Magazine
Heart, a program that performs pediatric cardiac procedures in the country’s capital of Dodoma. One New Heart is now only the second such center in the country of 60 million people, and the first not requiring private insurance or funding. During the trip, Shoopman trained and educated staff, as well as advised and assisted during pediatric catheterization procedures. Shoopman and Dr. Porisch reached a major milestone by completing the country’s first two patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure procedures. “A PDA closure is a common or accessible procedure in the United States. So, hearing that only two were done [in Tanzania] might seem very underwhelming to Americans, but for Tanzanians, this was years in the making,” Shoopman said. “The hospital’s doctors and staff erupted into cheers when we completed the first procedure. It was incredible.” This was Shoopman's first mission trip, and he hopes it will not be his last. For him, the experience reinforced that he is doing what he has been called to do. “Being able to see the kids the next day in recovery doing well and being given a new chance in life—that will be something I will always carry with me.”
