Karen Morth, MSN, RN, CCRN-CSC
Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit, Shapiro 6 West
Nominated by Maria Bentain-Melanson, MSN, RN, CCRN-CSC, clinical educator, and Lisa Comis, RN, CCRN-CSC, clinical nurse, with letters of support from Justin Precourt, MSN, RN, nursing director, and John Byrne, MD, MBA, FACC, chief of Cardiac Surgery.
A strong patient advocate, Karen Morth, MSN, RN, CCRN-CSC, is dedicated to ensuring every patient and family feels well-cared for by working collaboratively with the team to meet patients' needs.
"Karen promotes and preserves our patients' quality of life by working with her colleagues and leading them in acting responsibly and courageously on a patient and family's behalf," according to her nominators.
Morth recently exhibited these qualities when she asked the interprofessional care team to reconsider the plan to sedate a patient when he woke up agitated after surgery. Instead, Morth suggested removing the man's breathing tube and advocated that this would be more beneficial to him and decrease the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia and ventilator dependency. The team agreed, and this experience paved the way for early extubation for other patients in similar situations. Throughout the patient's stay, Morth also provided his wife with constant emotional support to help reduce her anxiety.
"Karen chose to advocate for her patient rather than agree with a decision that she felt would be more difficult for the patient to tolerate," her nominators wrote. "Karen consistently provided the patient and family with a clear, concise explanation of the plan of care to address their concerns and fears."
Morth is a highly collaborative, authentic leader who always makes herself available to assist her nursing colleagues, whether it be with the care of their patients, or in offering her insights into complex problems or decisions they are facing.
"A leader in advancing clinical practice, Karen gives everything she has for the betterment of our patients," said Justin Precourt, MSN, RN, nursing director, in a letter of support. "Karen leads clinical practice at the bedside."
In a nomination letter, John Byrne, MD, MBA, chief of Cardiac Surgery, said he's proud to have Morth on the Cardiac Surgery team: "Karen has an unrelenting commitment to the highest standard of care and is one of the most competent critical care nurses I have ever had the pleasure of working with."
Morth received her MSN from Simmons College and her BSN from Stonehill College. A medical-surgical clinical instructor at Simmons, Morth has worked in the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit for 27 years.