Volume 23 Issue No. 14 - March 31 2014

P r i n t
A Weekly Publication of the People of Queen’s
March 31, 2014
Volume 23 – Number 14
EOM Eugene Blancaflor Brings Cheer to All
“What is this now…am I in trouble?”
asked nursing assistant Eugene Blancaflor, as he was escorted into the ‘Iolani 3 conference room. “No, you’re the
one,” smiled Mark Yamakawa, Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer,
as he informed Eugene that he was
QMC’s March Employee of the Month.
Eugene was speechless. “That’s a first,”
exclaimed his wife Stephanie, though
she was bursting with pride for him.
Eugene received the customary letter
of congratulations, some spending money, and the coveted free parking space.
Then his coworkers piled him high with
lei and good wishes while snapping
smartphone selfies left and right.
“He is the most people person I know,”
Stephanie said. “He really knows how to
cheer people up, loves to joke, and is always helpful and respectful. That’s what
I first liked about him—he treats everybody with respect. He’s very special.”
Stephanie works in a physician’s office
in the POB I and met Eugene after regularly running into him on lunch breaks.
After moving here from the Philippines, Eugene came to Queen’s in 2001
as a volunteer via a training program
to help immigrants explore opportunities at local businesses. He volunteered
on Pauahi, Kinau, and in Recovery.
One of the managers finally asked him
if he would be interested in working
here and he eagerly took the training
(Continued on page 2.)
ER’s Becky Cole, RN,
Starts New Chapter
“You name it, she’s done it,” said Michelle Taylor, ER Nurse Manager. She
was talking about Becky Cole, RN, CN
IV, who has retired after 33 years at
Queen’s. One could add “and then some”
to Michelle’s statement, because Becky
had a lot of ER experience before Queen’s.
But let’s back up a little. Driving by
LA County USC Medical Center with her
parents when she was just five years old,
Becky already wanted to be an ER nurse,
EOM Eugene Blancaflor
(Continued from page 1.)
course, applied, and was hired.
“I like to interact with people,” Eugene
explained. Though he originally studied
computers, he said adamantly, “I don’t
want a desk job. I need personal contact.
I would still choose this!” He admits to
saying, “I’m going to work there one
day.” She didn’t get to work at LA County, but did go to nursing school there.
Right out of nursing school at 21 years
of age, Becky instead worked at the
San Bernardino ER, where she helped
establish its first paramedic program.
While there, she became a Certified
Emergency Nurse, the first time the test
computer workings circling around in his
brain like nuts and bolts; but now when
he dabbles in technology it’s only as a
hobby and just for family and friends.
Director Kathy Green, RN, said Eugene
goes above and beyond the call of duty
with a huge smile on his face and an attitude of aloha. “He truly lives our values,”
she said. “The nurses know they can always depend on Eugene, and the patients
adore him. They frequently comment
that he helps them to stay calm and distracted while waiting for surgery.”
Eugene’s mom Fredesvinda beamed
as she watched him interact with his
coworkers. He is the youngest of her
seven children, a
few of which still
live in the Philippines. Eugene’s
oldest sister Estrella Wolfe came
to the party with
her husband Allen Wolfe and
nephew Francis
Blancaflor. Allen revealed that
Francis Blancaflor, nephew, Allen Wolfe, brother-in-law, Stephanie,
Eugene is a good
wife, Eugene, Estrella Wolfe, sister, and Fredesvinda Blancaflor, mother.
musician: “He can
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was given. After six years, she went to
Santa Monica Medical Center, where she
served as Director of the ER. ER nurses
seem to be born for the job, Michelle explained. They’re very excited by the ER
and don’t want to be anywhere else.
Becky always wanted to live in the
tropics, so she sailed to Hawai‘i with
her husband using a sextant and celestial navigation in the days before GPS.
The voyage took 20 days. There wasn’t
an ER position at Queen’s when she arrived in 1981, so she worked in the open
heart unit. After six months, Becky got a
pretty regular call-in position in the old
‘Iolani ER. Back then, nurses still wore
white outfits and caps. Becky remembers
the day she wore a new white jeans outfit
for the first time and a patient vomited
all over it—that’s when she pushed for
scrubs. Becky worked on a policy and
procedures manual for Nurse Manager
(Continued on page 3.)
play anything and he sings, too.”
“Only piano and guitar,” Eugene
clarified. But he will admit to enjoying a competitive game of darts, which
Stephanie said he is pretty good at,
too. “When my friends get together,
we always play darts,” Eugene laughed.
Stephanie is a bird lover and Eugene
has become one as well. They have two
African gray cheeked conures, which are
considered parrots, and two Indian ring
necks, which are classified as parakeets
due to their smaller size. “They’re smart
and they can talk—it’s fun,” Eugene explained. Eugene and Stephanie also enjoy
just taking a drive around the island or
going out for a nice dinner.
Don’t Ignore Your Snore
By Ludy Lemus, RN, Same Day Surgery
Are you keeping your bed partner awake
at night with your loud snoring? Are you
feeling tired in the daytime even after a
good night’s rest? Has anyone ever told
you that you hold your breath when you
Becky Cole
(Continued from page 2.)
Barbara Ideta, RN, and remembers that
some memos still said “Territory of Hawaii” on them. After getting a full staff
nurse position, Becky quickly became the
first ever CN IV nurse at Queen’s.
Starting with Joint Commission
work, Becky took on ever bigger projects, such as being involved with the
physical design, patient flow, patient
tracking system, and staff training for
the new ER. She then helped build the
Epic (CARE•Link) system for the ER.
The Queen’s ER became one of the top
systems for Epic, and a lot of other hospital ERs have been based on it. Becky
also took on an unofficial role as ambassador for the ER to be supportive of
ancillary departments.
After spending time away from the
ER working on these projects, Becky
came back as a charge nurse and set
up the first ER nursing class. She eventually segued into a performance improvement coordinator role in 2009.
Somewhere in between all of her accomplishments, Becky was also named QMC
Employee of the Year for 2000, spoke at
sleep? These are just
some of the risk factors for a condition
called Obstructive
Sleep Apnea (OSA).
If you have untreated OSA, your body
is under chronic
physical stress from
multiple episodes of
holding your breath
while you sleep.
This stress to your
body may lead to
high blood pressure,
heart disease, and
stroke. When you
wake up from your sleep, you may lack
energy and be prone to concentration
problems and driving accidents.
I was at work at the Same Day Surgery
when I received a call that my mother
was in a head on collision with a tree.
She was only a few blocks away from her
destination when she fell asleep! Luckily
she survived and got away with lacerations to her face and several broken ribs.
She was already diagnosed with OSA,
but had declined to get the sleeping machine (CPAP) prescribed by her doctor.
an Emergency Nurses Association conference, served on the Governor’s Task
Force for Injury Prevention, and was a
Trauma Nurse Core Curriculum instructor for 10 years. Becky’s last professional
accomplishment was to publish an article on restraint reduction in the journal
Nursing Clinics of North America.
“Now I’m ready for something new,”
Becky says about her retirement—
“new” meaning something like being on
permanent vacation. She has no specific plans, but will be busy playing tennis,
hiking, CrossFitting, standup paddling,
and remodeling her home. “I love building, painting, projects, and yard work,”
she says. “I have no shortage of things
to do.” Becky will also continue as a docent for the ‘Iolani Palace, plan trips to
Tahiti and India, and join Wahine Sailors to take up sailing again.
One of the things Becky appreciates
most is how Queen’s worked the C.A.R.E.
(Compassion, Aloha, Respect, Excellence)
The Continuous Positive Airway
Pressure (CPAP) machine is a common
treatment for OSA. It works by providing a constant prescribed pressure
through a tube to a face mask worn by
person with sleep apnea during sleep.
With the machine, breathing during
sleep is more efficient and a more restful night’s sleep can be achieved.
I had mixed emotions that day of the
accident. Yes, my mother is still with me
and I felt relief. Then the feeling of utter
professional shame came. At the time of
my mother’s accident, I was and am currently on a Queen’s nursing team to develop evidence-based guidelines for managing patients at high risk for OSA. I even
gave a presentation at a nursing conference on our project. Yet, I was not able to
convince my mother to get the machine.
The accident was a reality check for
my mother. She finally did order the
sleep machine with a little reminder from me. Since she has been using
the CPAP machine, she no longer falls
asleep literally into her dinner plate! She
looks and feels healthier and energetic.
Patients with untreated OSA also have
an increased risk of respiratory and cardiac complications following anesthesia
from surgery. In the preoperative setting, such as in Same Day Surgery and
Kinau 3, nurses use a screening tool for
OSA. If a patient has many risk factors, it
will be communicated to the rest of team
to improve patient safety and outcomes.
If you have some of the risk factors
for OSA described above or other factors, including high blood pressure,
are overweight, are over age 50, or are
male, then talk to your doctor. Your
doctor may refer you to a sleep lab in
order to diagnose OSA. Treating this
condition may have profound changes—perhaps a more energetic you.
Values into every aspect of the organization and liked being a part of that effort.
She also says of Queen’s: “If you want
to develop and grow, the opportunity
is there. [Queen’s has] functioned as a
Magnet® hospital way before Magnet.
Queen’s is a very open organization that
encourages development.” Becky will not
only be remembered for her accomplishments, but also for her approachability, creativity, diligence—and for being
pleasant and a lot of fun through it all.
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Service
A W A R D S
In acknowledgment of many years of continued service, the Queen’s ‘ohana congratulates those who are
marking an anniversary. Mahalo to all for your dedicated service. Employees work at QMC unless noted.
February & March 2014
5 years
Kasey Aiwohi
Dino Akai, MGH
Martha Boyd
Terese Bush-Tautoa
Elena Cabu
Haunani Chai
Sara Doolin
Bernadette Estacio
Amita Goya
Ashish Goyal
Nathan Kaleleiki
Janet Kao
Stacie Katahara
Bryan Kau
Katokakala Kaufusi
Danielle Kuoha
Marites Lagunero
Maria Victoria Lanier-Cablay
Lina Lutiloa
4
Eleanor Marcelo
April Olsen
Ramon Panarigan
Charlie Ranada
Lina Salvador
Andrea Jean Sarocam
Miles Sato
Jewel Sawada
Jennifer Sim
Veronica Simao
Kelly Smolensky
Jessica Spencer
Karen Ursic
Deliz Villanueva
Leilani Willing
Sheryl-Ann Wong
Lelie Ann Yanagihara
10 years
Alex Balbas, MGH
Jenny Bunville
Sell
Join us for a
Magnet Recognition
Celebration BBQ
FRIDAY
Summer student volunteer applications are being accepted at Volunteer
Services. Interviews will be scheduled
after applications are screened. Download an application form on the web at
www.queens.org/volunteer.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A QMC Blood Drive will be held on
Monday, April 21, from 7:00 am to
2:45 pm in the old ER turnaround. Call
848-4770 to schedule an appointment.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pediatric Emergency Assessment,
Recognition, and Stabilization (PEARS),
is a new course for basic healthcare providers. Classes will be held on Monday
April 21, repeating on Thursday May
8, both from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. The
course will help basic pediatric healthcare
April 4, 2014
11:00 am - 1:30 pm
QCC Plaza
TICKET REQUIRED
providers develop knowledge and skills
for emergency evaluation and treatment
of seriously ill infants and children. The
target audience is medical and surgical
nurses and others who care for children
outside of critical-care areas. You do not
have to be able to recognize arrhythmias.
Treatment is based on assessments skills,
which will be taught. Students will watch
video clips of ill children and participate
in discussions and case simulations. A
brochure and sign up are on the Queen’s
Intranet under “Education” in the CPR.
Bicycle: ‘12 Orbea Carpe H20, sz 51, fits
5’4”-5’10,” rode once. $850. Chair: Perfect
Chair Zero Gravity, manual recline, prem
leather, hand-carved wood base, exclnt
cond. $950/neg. Call 499-9447. (Pics on CL.)
Rent
Upper Makiki: 2/1/1, sec bldg, new carpets, pool. No pets. Avail 5/1. $1750. 7783681, lv msg.
Misc
Craft fair: Kalaheo Spring Fling. Crafts,
food, silent auction, dunk tank. Benefits
college scholarship fund. Sat, 4/5, 10am2pm @ Kalaheo HS athletic field, corner
of Saddle Rd & Kapaa Quarry Rd.
Placing an ad: Queen’s employees only. Include
name, phone and Employee ID number. Mail
to Creative Services—Print Connection, fax to
691-4002 or e-mail to jkimura@queens.org by
Wednesday. The Print Connection reserves the
right to edit or refuse any ad. The Print Connection
does not make any warranty about the fitness of
any product or service listed in Q-Mart.
P r i n t
Irene Cabagbag
Mini Co
Lannie Domliga
Sirina Eyo
Angelica Fedalizo
Alena Hughes
Hyacinth Lozada
April Mabe
Karen Shultz
Laureen Shoji
Erika Silva
May Taira
Younisi Donegan
Juvelyn Juan
Raynette Kaneshiro
Jocelyn Pascual
Imogene Rapanot
Luisa Thompson
15 years
Moana Atuatasi
Roberta Christensen
Jennifer Day
Teri Duque
Joann Noa
Ivy Yamashita
30 years
Jhun Fronda
20 years
Melifel Childers
Susan Coloma
25 years
Kim Holliday
Madonna Lynn Reisert
Manichanh Singrattana
Ai Xuan Tsui
Arlene Young
35 years
Donna Pagdilao
Judy Trubiana
40 years
Deborah De Have
Garcia
Gail Smith
Weekly
The Queen’s Print Connection is published
by Creative Services. If you have news or
wish to opine, call us at 691-7532 or e-mail
jkimura@queens.org. The news deadline is the Monday prior to publication.
QHS/QMC President . . . . Art Ushijima
Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roy Cameron
Editor/Writer . . . . . . . . . . . .Jason Kimura
Assist. Ed./Writer . . . . . . Glee Stormont
www.queens.org
The Queen’s Medical Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.
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