Care for Patients in Emergencies

If you work well under pressure, caring for patients in our emergency rooms, Trauma Center or on MedEvac may be for you

Meet core trauma nurse Laurie Cartwright, R.N.

A call comes in from MedEvac: gunshot wound to the head, 18-year-old female, 17 weeks pregnant. The helicopter lands and Laurie Cartwright, R.N., takes charge. She knows the drill, but she still feels a pit in her stomach and can’t help but think, “How did this happen? Was it domestic violence, a robbery, a car jacking?”

Cartwright and her team intubate the patient, while monitoring her vital signs and the baby’s heart rate. They take a CT scan of her brain. It’s at that moment Cartwright looks into the women’s eyes. She’s awake and aware of her surroundings. She’s very scared. Cartwright reassures her that they will take good care of her and her baby. Then, the woman heads to the operating room. A bullet ricocheted off her head, lodging a piece of her skull into her brain.

The woman and her baby both survive and are doing well. Several months later, Cartwright has the opportunity to meet her patient, her newborn and her family. The patient is grateful and thanks everyone who cared for her. “These are the moments in nursing that touch our hearts. This one will stay within my heart forever,” Cartwright says. “I am truly honored to be part of such a great team, hospital and community.”

Cartwright is the recipient of the 2006 Friends of Nursing Trauma Award. She was nominated by her colleagues for this prestigious LVHHN award.

Ideas That Take Flight

MedEvac flight nurse Richard Kuklentz, R.N., discovered a way to save his colleagues precious time and Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network valuable resources while restocking the aircraft for its next emergency. He suggested purchasing non-rebreather oxygen masks and tubing as one unit instead of separately. He submitted his idea to our Working Wonders program and earned $324.

Do you work well under pressure? Are you able to assess situations and solve problems quickly? If so, emergency nursing may be for you. Whether you’re in one of our three emergency departments or with our MedEvac flight crew, you could provide care when minutes matter most.

Join Our Trauma Team

You will work in a first-rate trauma center. Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network is a Level I Trauma Center – the highest possible rating for trauma care offering the highest level of care to the most critically injured patients. We are the first health care facility in Pennsylvania to earn this designation. And, we’re only one of four in the state with added qualifications in pediatric trauma care, and one of only three with dedicated burn care.

You’ll work with the latest technology and highly-skilled and dedicated clinicians who care for more than 3,000 injured patients each year. While caring for patients, you’ll care for their families, too, ensuring they have the support they need to cope with what’s happened. As a member of the trauma team, you’ll also help educate the community about preventing traumas, such as students about the dangers of drinking and driving, playground safety and seniors about fall prevention and safe driving.

Take Flight

If trauma nursing appeals to you, consider joining our MedEvac flight crew. You’ll be one of the first nurses to respond to car accidents, shootings and other traumas in which patients need first-rate care, fast. (MedEvac helicopters fly at 170 miles per hour. That’s the same speed a NASCAR stock car travels at Pocono Raceway.)

You’ll also transport patients who need a higher level of care to Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, and help educate the community about preventing emergencies. In addition, you could help the flight crew provide medical services and emergency care at two Pocono Raceway NASCAR races.

You’ll even have a mascot, an English bulldog named Buster, who keeps everyone smiling and laughing.

Join Our Emergency Care Teams

As an emergency department nurse, no two days will ever be the same. Consider working in one of our emergency departments, located at LVH-Cedar Crest, LVH-17^th and Chew streets and LVH-Muhlenberg. It’s a high-pressure environment in which patience, compassion and dedication is essential. At the same time, it’s satisfying and challenging knowing you’ve helped get patients the care they need quickly and safely.

Here, you’ll have the most advanced technology and opportunities to care for patients will a variety of injuries and illnesses. You’ll play a central role in developing procedures and protocols and integrating new technology and systems. If you have an idea about how to give better care, you have the support and encouragement to research it and present your findings.

You can also become a SAFE (Sexual Assault Response Team) nurse. This team offers support and care for people who have been sexually abused. They are sexual assault forensic examiners, trained to gently collect evidence to help convict attackers. They also educate the community about what to do in case of a sexual assault and about risks like date rape drugs.

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