The Duke Neurology Department gave six of its All Star Awards in November as a recognition of outstanding patient care and the help they provided to members of our Department. Read the nominations below to learn more about our most recent All Stars.
Anna Lafave, RN
"Anna Lafave in our 1 L Clinic helped me greatly with communication and prior authorization of ubrelvy for a patient with significant migraines. She made a difficult process very easy and allowed the patient to get her medications approved. Her care for this patient was much appreciated."
Nominated by Dylan Ryan, MD
Andrew Spector, MD
"Andrew Spector's dedication to inclusion, diversity, and equity inspires the work of the D&I committee in a major way. With Andrew's leadership, global pandemic notwithstanding, the D&I committee has grown and the scope of its projects widened. Thank you, Andrew, for your enduring efforts at organizing and planning, and thank you for modeling transparency and inclusivity for all voices."
Nominated by Beth Kearney, PA-C, Will Alexander, MA, Katie Moore, MD
In-patient Neurology attendings
"I want to send out Kudo’s to all the Neurology attendings rounding on the inpatient services including the epilepsy attendings. I feel like the team work between attendings including handoffs, working together on difficult cases, coverage when needed, figuring out follow-up etc has been amazing and appreciate everyone’s care and thoughtfulness. It could have been that it became more difficult with more attendings involved but it has continued to be strong."
Nominated by Joel Morgenlander, MD
Evelyn Morgan
"At the end of an appointment today, my patient's wife asked if Evelyn was in the building because she wanted to meet Evelyn and personally thank her for all the care she and her husband have received. Evelyn has been very attentive and communicative and she appreciates all the calls and coordination. Evelyn has a special way of communicating with the memory patient population and their families. She has a way of calming and reassuring them."
Nominated by Kim Johnson, MD and Morgan Carter
Allison Allen, LCSW
"In addition to literally being a top social worker of the year, Allison Allen is an MVP for finding information relating to our work in movement disorders. Whether she's reaching out to Huntington's patients for an interview, digging up specific statistics on the patients sen at Duke, or sharing news about our many movement support groups, Allison is always knowledgeable, friendly, and reliable."
Nominated by Will Alexander, MA
Lynn Miles
"Late last week, Lynn Miles, RN, one of the 1L nurses, received a call from a difficult patient. The patient had a break through seizure. Her medications were adjusted by the provider. The next day the patient called again, and again Lynn took the call. This time the patient sounded confused, and Lynn could hear background noise that made her concerned. Lynn suggested that the patient should go to the ED. Unfortunately, the patient’s caregivers did not seem willing to take her. Lynn’s felt uncomfortable with the situation and offered to involve the police. The patient agreed, and Lynn had the local police visit the patient. Ultimately the patient was transferred to a local hospital and then to DUMC. At DUMC she was noted to be in status epilepticus and was admitted to the NICU for further management. Had it not been for Lynn taking the extraordinary initiative of involving the police, the patient could have had a very bad outcome. During her call, Lynn listened/assessed/and put in to action a plan to support the patient’s physical, emotional, and safety needs, showing how vital it is to have strong nursing skills in the ambulatory arena. Lynn also made sure all parties were communicated to and aware of what was occurring. Thank you, Lynn, for choosing to be a part of our team and for being a Neurology All Star!"
Nominated by Aatif Husain, MD, and Lindsy Anthony, MSN