PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Medical Center board of commissioners recognized seven employees for their work in improving anticoagulation management for perioperative patients.
The group worked to create an improved system for instructing patients on when to stop taking anticoagulants before surgery and when to resume after surgery.
The group members are: Karen Bright, director of pharmacy; Leanne Shannon, short stay unit nurse; George Suhr, clinical informatics analyst; Sam Reynolds, clinical informatics senior analyst; Paula Wahl, organizational performance improvement coordinator; Dr. Kara Urnes, cardiologist; and Dr. Georgia Heisterkamp, general surgeon.
Anticoagulants such as warfarin can increase risk of bleeding, which can lead to complications during surgery.
Instructing patients when to stop anticoagulants for a surgery and when it’s safe to resume them are important safety measures.