MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center's New Emergency Department Liaison Helps Emergency Department Patients and Families Navigate their Visit with Care
If you go through the stressful, upsetting experience of having a loved one rushed to the Emergency Department (ED), you would hope to be greeted by someone like Angela Green, MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center's new ED Liaison. Her job is to introduce herself to family members, explain what is going on while the patient is being treated, make sure they understand each step, answer any questions they have and give regular updates as they wait for news.
“I’m able to monitor who is coming in by ambulance and I watch for their family,” said Angela, who is also a nurse. “When they arrive, I say, ‘I’ve been looking for you,’ so they know I’m someone who knows what is going on and I’m here to help them through the process.”
For our patients, Angela will also assist to make sure they understand what is going on with their treatment, lab work and tests. She will also follow up with them after they have been moved to another area after treatment to see if they need any additional assistance.
“It has been fantastic,” said Ryan White, Director of Emergency Services. “When a patient leaves the ED and she follows the patient up to the floor and accompanies the family, families love it because it shows the patient hasn’t been forgotten. It’s been very, very powerful. This is just a part of what Angela does and it has taken this position to a new level.”
Angela says she knew she wanted to pursue nursing since the age of five, when she watched her grandmother take care of people. She has been a nurse for more than a decade, bringing with her experience in urgent care and in long-term assisted living.
To learn more about Emergency Services at our hospital, visit MedStarSouthernMaryland.org/Emergency.