Medical Emergency Team Celebrates 10 Years of Improving Patient Outcomes
by Maryanne Matthews
The Medical Emergency Team (MET) of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is celebrating its ten year anniversary of improving patient safety.
Created in January 2007, MET is like a portable Intensive Care Unit that identifies when a patient may be worsening, and intervenes early to improve patient outcomes. “Ward nurses are given a list of criteria to assess a patient’s vital signs, such as airway, breathing, circulation and neurology,” explained Diane Olsen, MET Lead RN. “The list of criteria helps bedside nurses to identify if a patient is becoming at risk, at which time MET is called in. By intervening early we can hopefully stabilize the patient and prevent them from further deterioration.”
The MET will do follow-ups on all patients that are discharged from the Intensive Care Unit to the ward for 48 hours. This not only enhances the continuity of care, but provides an extra layer of comfort and safety to our patients and families.