At today’s employee forum, Chief Executive Andrew Stripp presented the STAR Award for Outstanding Care or Service Delivery. The winner in this category is Ben Meiklem.
Ben is a counsellor and registered nurse with Monash Health’s Drug and Alcohol Service.
One day, on his lunch break, he was walking down Thomas St in Dandenong and saw people carrying an overdosed man out of a laneway onto the main street.
They were holding a Naloxone kit and struggling to open it. Naloxone is a medication that blocks or reverses the effects of opiates. The kit included Naloxone safeguarded in a yellow concealable container.
Ben had recently received Naloxone training as part of his role at Monash Health. He decided to stop and offer help. The man was grey, floppy, non-responsive, with blue lips and shallow breaths.
While another bystander was calling an ambulance, Ben opened the Naloxone kit and administered it, then commenced CPR. He continued compressions and administration of Naloxone while communicating his presentation to ambulance services on the phone.
Ben then called the nearby SECADA office to have colleagues bring the site defibrillator, but the man woke just as the ambulance arrived. Ben handed over to the ambulance and left the scene. The interventions Ben decided to take undoubtedly saved this man’s life.
An amazing example of the care our healthcare workers provide to our community. Congratulations Ben!
As we approach International Overdose Awareness Day on 31 August, it is important our teams are appropriately trained to handle potential overdoses. Ben’s story is an example of how important it is that we complete our training. If you would like to undertake Naloxone training, you can contact the Monash Health Drug and Alcohol Service team.
If you know someone, like Ben, who has provided outstanding care to our patients and community, head to the STAR Portal and nominate them today!
For more categories and information on our STAR Program, you can visit the Monash Health COVID-19 website.
Approved by Karen Lowe