Our social workers help with this process and documentation is in the
progress notes. We have a designated critical care/trauma social worker for
consistency. We do not use a separate form for this since it does not occur
very often. What we have had to do with a similar case is to call the
police to fingerprint the patient to try to get an ID that way. We were
able to get an ID, since the fingerprints were on file and then we located
the family of the patient.
Karen
-----Original Message-----
From: Banner, Dixie [mailto:DBANNER@SJMC.ORG]
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2003 5:41 AM
To: 'TraumaNurses@TraumaNurseSoc.org'
Subject: [traumanurses] "john doe identification"
I need some ideas! As all of us experience, the unidentified patient
or one with minimal information continues to be a communications
nightmare. Here's the latest problem: an auto-ped pt., has a wallet
with an ID from the local homeless shelter and a soc. security card.
Pt. admitted late in the day yesterday, intubated, CHI. Now this
morning, the patient-family specialist in the ICU doesn't know what
(if any) effort has been made to find any family or friends. Do any
of you have a worksheet that could be put on the chart (not
necessarily part of the permanent record) that would organize and
communicate this process that often goes over several shifts and even
several days? Thanks in advance for your help.
Dixie Banner, RN, CNS
Trauma Nurse Coordinator
St. John Medical Center
Tulsa, OK
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