If you see Jessica Halter walking through the halls at the League City Hospital, please take a minute to say congratulations and thank you!
Congratulations … because Jessica, a nurse clinician II, was honored with a Daisy Award on May 7.
And thank you … because her personal story exemplifies the kind of dedication to patient care that keeps UTMB at the forefront of excellence.
Here’s what happened:
Jessica was discharging a patient from the fourth floor on Thanksgiving Day 2023. When she got the patient down to the hospital lobby, Jessica noticed a truck pulled up to the hospital entrance.
The male driver was yelling for help, so Jessica excused herself from her discharging patient and went to the truck to assess the situation.
There she found a female in the front passenger seat unresponsive and pulseless. Jessica immediately stepped in, reclined the front seat all the way back, straddled the passenger and began CPR in the vehicle. The front desk staff noticed what was happening and alerted ER staff for assistance.
The ER staff responded to the hospital entrance with a stretcher, took over CPR, transferred the patient out of the truck and transported her to the Emergency Department.
In the ED, ROSC (return of spontaneous circulation) was achieved!
Jessica stayed in the ED to comfort the patient's spouse while the ED team provided treatment. The patient went on fully recover from this medical event.
Because of Jessica's immediate response and critical thinking, this patient's life was saved.
“The Daisy award presentation was extremely touching,” said Merry Philips, associate chief nursing officer for the Clear Lake and League City hospitals. “The patient was on hand to help present Jessica with the award. Jessica’s peers, hospital leadership and several of Jessica’s family members were also in attendance to help surprise and present her with this award. The entire story had all of us in tears.”
On behalf of the Health System leadership team, we want to extend our gratitude to Jessica for going above and beyond!
“UTMB Health patients benefits from employees like you who show the utmost professionalism at the time of need,” Dr. Sharma, SVP and chief medical and clinical innovation officer, wrote in a note to Jessica.