John Skougaard, RN, with his family
Just as the COVID-19 situation was starting to heat up in southern Utah last month, Chris Thompson, the Emergency Department manager at Cedar City Hospital, received a text message that said her adult son was in a Las Vegas emergency room with heart issues. Chris jumped up from her meeting, ran to her department, and asked John Skougaard, RN, to cover for her while she was gone. She gave him a few instructions and was out the door headed to Nevada to be with her son.
John, a shared leader and charge nurse, says he didn’t think twice about telling Chris to go. He then devised forms to track EMS patients, reported information to the system Emergency Operational Lane, and set up a schedule for staff from other departments to orient in the ED.
“He took the lead in the ED in a matter of minutes when I had to leave and did an incredible job,” says Chris. “It was such a relief to know I could leave without worry.”