SGMC Health Honors Operating Room Team with Heroes Award

SGMC Health honored several members of its surgical services team as health system heroes at its monthly board of directors meeting. The team was honored for their attention to detail and quick actions while caring for a pediatric patient who experienced malignant hyperthermia (MH), a rare life-threatening reaction to anesthesia.

Honorees included anesthesiologists James Warren, MD, Kevin Kenworthy, MD, nurse anesthetist Pete Shea, OR Manager Samantha Dean, post operative nurses Takara Lopez, Sara Whitaker, and Kali Fussell.

In this particular case, the patient received anesthesia for imaging. After the scans, a nurse noticed the patient's temperature was rapidly increasing. She quickly activated MH protocol and the team went into action to treat the condition, which is believed to occur in about 1 in every 100,000 surgeries.

According to SGMC Health Director of Surgical Services Jessica Musgrove, "The patient's family was extremely grateful to the team for their attentiveness, knowledge, and quick actions taken to save this child. We are happy to report that the patient recovered very well and was home the next day!"

The team received a standing ovation from those in attendance.

SGMC Health participates in an array of recognition programs to honor employees who most exemplify the tagline, "Remarkable People, Extraordinary Care, Human Kindness." To learn more, visit sgmc.org/recognition.