Teleflex Frontline Stories honor those Teleflex employees who have returned to the frontlines of their healthcare specialty to help in the fight against COVID‑19. We hope these stories of resilience, hard work and incredible dedication are a source of hope and inspiration in these challenging times. Thank you to all of our employees who are working to improve the health and quality of people’s lives with the work they do each and every day. #FrontlineStories
Jaclyn Smith RN, BSN
Anesthesia & Emergency Medicine Clinical Affairs Manager
Chicago, USA
“Generosity from the community and support from my Teleflex colleagues has been heartwarming and makes me proud to do what I do.”
I have 10 years of experience as a Pediatric Respiratory Therapist, seven of which were spent on a Pediatric Critical Care Transport Team. I finished my BSN and received my RN in August 2019. I currently hold both licenses in the State of Illinois and am credentialed in Neonatal Pediatrics Specialty care (NPS) and Certified Neonatal Pediatric Transport (C-NPT). I have bachelor’s degrees from Northern Illinois University in Healthcare Science and Saint Xavier University in Nursing. I hope to keep learning and creating experiences for myself through the endless opportunity the healthcare field offers.
A deep feeling of wanting to do something in the healthcare field has been with me for as long as I can remember. I have worked very hard to be where I am today and wouldn’t change a thing. When the pandemic began, I knew I had a lot to offer and wanted to help out in any way I could. I live very close to my local hospital, so it was natural for me to get involved on the front lines.
The teamwork I have witnessed in the field has been inspiring. I have seen professionals working together as if they have been for years when in some cases, we all just met that morning. Everyone is part of one team and no matter how much you help they are grateful. Some of these people are working five or more days in a row in 12-hour shifts and no one is complaining, simply doing what is best for the patients.
Generosity from the community and support from my Teleflex colleagues has been heartwarming and makes me proud to do what I do. The outpouring of support from messages written in chalk as we walk to work to the food being donated, it is all appreciated as we do our part against CCOVID‑19.
Katerin Villamarin
Home Care Nurse and Clinical Education Consultant for Teleflex
Guayaquil, Ecuador
“If I could describe the people at Teleflex in one word, it would be love. Love conquers all fear, and Teleflex’s mission is truly helping to bring hope in the face of this pandemic.”
Growing up I was interested in issues related to medicine and nursing and was always looking for courses related to first aid and primary care. When I finished nursing school in 2013, I was excited to start professional practice in different clinical settings, including the emergency room, surgery rooms, hemodialysis unit, and intensive care unit. After all of this experience, I decided to focus on direct care in home care for intravenous therapy and vascular access. I believe the call to nursing and clinical practice cannot be easily explained as there can be hard times, stressful situations and sad days, but there is always a fire in your heart that makes you get up every day to continue your work with patients.
When the COVID‑19 pandemic began, I was working as a hospital nurse leader, as well as director of a home nursing project. I decided to give focus to my work in home nursing. I knew this would allow me to serve a broader population of those who may not have access to the conventional health system due to strains placed on it from the pandemic.
It has been a challenge to work in Guayaquil, Ecuador, which is one of the hardest hit cities in Latin America with a high number of positive cases and a high mortality rate. I receive calls and messages 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from people in need of care for their loved ones. In a recent case I was able to place an intravenous line for hydration, antibiotics and analgesics for an older woman with the virus. Her daughter is a doctor and she also lost her husband to the virus. Not only was I able to care for the woman medically, I did my best to help alleviate the family’s anxiety caused by the pandemic. I am grateful that I am still healthy and able to care for those in need, with both medicine and human compassion.
If I could describe the people at Teleflex in one word, it would be love. Love conquers all fear, and Teleflex’s mission is truly helping to bring hope in the face of this pandemic.
Ahcène Tazibt
Clinical Specialist
Margency, France
“I am fighting alongside all of my Teleflex colleagues who in their own way are helping to improve the health and quality of people’s lives.”
I am a Clinical Specialist with Teleflex from Margency, France. Prior to this, I worked as a nurse from 2008 to 2013 in an emergency department, an intensive care unit and a mobile pre-hospital emergency and resuscitation unit. From 2013 to 2018, I was a nurse anesthesiologist in the operating room and maternity ward.
Taking care of people comes naturally to me, even in the most difficult of times. I also like the complex challenges that healthcare often brings and knowing that I can make a positive difference in the life of a patient. So when it became apparent that people needed help as a result of the COVID‑19 pandemic, I returned to the field. Hospitals are seeing a massive influx of patients and I knew I could assist the healthcare teams treat as many people as possible.
What has impacted me the most about the pandemic is the dire condition some patients are in due to the virus. This is where my training kicks in, and my love for complex healthcare. I am proud to be able to do my part among the incredible army of front line staff in the fight against COVID‑19.
I am fighting alongside all of my Teleflex colleagues who in their own way are helping to improve the health and quality of people’s lives.
Hayleigh Haggerty
Clinical Manager Indirect
Kent, UK
“I feel so very proud to be part of our Teleflex team ensuring availability of vital products at this time, as well as being alongside my ICU peers on the frontline.”
I am a nurse having worked as a Sister within intensive care units in Kent and London, and a Senior Sister within critical care outreach. I obtained my BSc (Hons) in Adult Nursing from the University of Surrey in 2009, and my MSc in Advanced Critical Care Practice from the University of Greenwich in 2018. I am also a qualified Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) placer and Advanced Life Support (ALS) instructor. I have worked for Teleflex for over three years; initially as a Freelance Educator, then as the UK Vascular Clinical Specialist, and have recently been promoted to Clinical Manager for the Indirect region.
I was drawn to medicine as a teenager when my grandfather was in the hospital and I observed how attentive the nurses were at his bedside. I wanted to make a difference too and knew this was the way to do it. Fast forward to today as we find ourselves in the throes of the COVID‑19 pandemic. I am fortunate that I continue to have many friends from my old ICU team and as it became apparent that ICUs were going to be under particular pressure during this crisis, I knew I had to help. My skills are valuable and critically needed at this time, so I jumped into action to put them to good use by returning to nursing in the ICU of a UK hospital.
On my first shift back, I was feeling quite overwhelmed trying to understand the new processes in place for managing COVID‑19 patients, when I noticed a large pile of Arrow® boxes and couldn’t help but smile. I know many of my sales colleagues have worked tirelessly to ensure supply for the increased demand and seeing the impact in front of me was very reassuring.
The high demand of care during the pandemic has turned the whole concept of ICU nursing on its head and healthcare professionals have had to adapt accordingly. Despite this, the team is determined, strong, and still managing to deliver exceptional care under excruciating circumstances. I feel so very proud to be part of our Teleflex team ensuring availability of vital products at this time, as well as being alongside my ICU peers on the frontline.
Chris Davlantes, MD, FACEP
Medical Director – Clinical & Medical Affairs (CMA)
Kansas City, USA
“I have never dealt with a health crisis like COVID‑19 has created, and – at the same time – I have never been prouder to be on the Clinical and Medical Affairs team at Teleflex.”
Thanks to the unending support from Teleflex, I have been granted the privilege to continue practicing and caring for patients on a part-time basis as a physician board-certified in Emergency Medicine. I have a responsibility to my physician colleagues and to the patients who are suffering from this pandemic to use the knowledge/training/experience I have gained over the years to do what I can to help. I can honestly say that, in the 24 years I have spent in this specialty, I have never dealt with a health crisis like COVID‑19 has created, and – at the same time – I have never been prouder to be on the Clinical and Medical Affairs team at Teleflex.
Recently, as has been the case for most of my shifts in the Emergency Department lately, I found myself starting my shift resuscitating a critically ill patient who had been confirmed to have COVID‑19. Before his wife had a chance to return from parking the car, he was already intubated, on mechanical ventilatory support, and heading to one of the designated Medical ICUs to join dozens of other patients with COVID‑19 pneumonia and sepsis whom we had admitted in the past week.
In the course of the patient’s care, we employed myriad therapies, many of which involved use of products from Teleflex. I inserted an EZ-IO® needle in his right proximal humerus to draw blood and hand to one of the nurses for point-of-care blood testing as well as to administer the medications he needed for sedation and paralysis. We also utilized respiratory products from Teleflex to provide pre-oxygenation, an endotracheal tube placed by the resident, a radial arterial line, a triple lumen central venous catheter, and an indwelling urinary bladder catheter.
It is important to recognize that the “heroes” dealing with this pandemic are not only found in the ambulances transporting patients to the hospitals or behind the walls of the Emergency Department and ICU. Many employees continue to come to work at Teleflex so that we can provide medical devices that are critical to the delivery of care to patients suffering from this pandemic. What they do matters, and the products we are providing to healthcare workers are helping to save lives. We should all be proud to work for Teleflex.
Mark Surgenor
Senior Clinical Manager, EMEA
Belfast, Northern Ireland
“It has made me proud to not only be a nurse, but to work for a company like Teleflex that supports our staff as we help during this difficult time.”
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing and worked full-time in the Emergency Department of a children’s hospital in Belfast for five years before moving into the medical device field. I wanted a career where I could interact with people. My mom was a pediatric nurse for 41 years and suggested nursing to me. As soon as started training I was hooked. I have continued to practice during my time at Teleflex, but this has become less and less over the years.
I have many good friends still working in the hospital and when I heard their stories and the difficulties they were facing as a result of the COVID‑19 pandemic, I knew I had to do something. It’s not an easy decision to make as you are putting yourself at greater risk, but I am pleased that I received the support of Teleflex and also my family to help frontline staff. I am proud to have returned to the Accident and Emergency department of the same Belfast children’s hospital. During my first shift I was acutely aware of the number of products from Teleflex with which I came in contact, including ET tubes, EZ-IO® drivers and needles, urinary catheters, skin staplers, and MAD Nasal™ atomization devices to name a few.
Since returning to nursing, I have been struck by two observations. The first is fear. There is fear of the unknown, fear of what is to come and fear of how it will affect each individual personally. But second and more overwhelmingly, I am seeing determination. Determination to continue in the face of adversity, determination to provide high standard healthcare needed by patients in spite of the risk to self, and determination to overcome this virus.
It has made me proud to not only be a nurse, but to work for a company like Teleflex that supports our staff as we help during this difficult time. I am also reassured knowing that Teleflex provides high quality products that help healthcare professionals like myself deliver high quality care to our patients.
Tom Humphries
Interim Clinical Manager UK/Clinical Specialist UK
Beaconsfield, UK
“I feel honored and proud to be able to help and be supported by Teleflex to provide my skills and abilities during this challenging time.”
I trained with an ambulance service in the UK from 2005 as an EMT, then qualified as a Paramedic in 2008. I have always been on the frontlines and enjoy the excitement of a high-pressure situation. I left the ambulance service as Operational Team Leader Paramedic to join Teleflex Clinical and Medical Affairs in 2016.
I joined Teleflex because I believe the products we make can help to achieve positive patient outcomes. And if we can train clinicians to use them safely and effectively, there is satisfaction in knowing that someone’s life will be better because of our team. While working at Teleflex has been my predominant role, I continue to maintain my clinical skills and am a Registered Paramedic in the UK.
During the unprecedented COVID‑19 pandemic, I have offered some of my time to the same ambulance service. Like many of my Clinical and Medical Affairs colleagues, I maintain my Professional Clinical registration, and am able to put these skills to good use treating emergency patients in the pre-hospital environment. In my time since returning to the field I have treated patients with suspected and confirmed COVID‑19, an acute heart attack, trauma from a traffic accident, and a patient with severe burns.
It is reassuring to see products from Teleflex available throughout a number of these treatments and to see them being used effectively. This collaboration proves we are truly in it together globally and as a Teleflex family.
I feel honored and proud to be able to help and be supported by Teleflex to provide my skills and abilities during this challenging time.
Andrés García Córdoba
MES Nurse & Clinical Education Consultant for Teleflex
Ibiza, Spain
“The combination of the training offered by Teleflex and the experience that external consultants can offer, ensures quality education in the use of our products when patients need them most.”
When I was 16, I started volunteering for the Red Cross in ambulances and two years later transitioned from a volunteer to a professional in the field. I then finished my nursing degree in Barcelona and continued my studies in EMS and mountain medicine. I started teaching in 1999 and have continued my passion of training in different areas of health care, including consulting as a clinical educator for Teleflex. Additionally, I have worked as an EMS nurse in ambulances and medical helicopters since 2004.
I have worked as a consultant to Teleflex for over three years now. Thanks to the experience I have gained through my relationship with Teleflex, I have had the opportunity not only to offer training of the highest quality but also to improve my knowledge and consequently the care of my patients. The combination of the training offered by Teleflex and the experience that external consultants can offer, ensures quality education in the use of our products when patients need them most.
We are now faced with COVID‑19 in the day-to-day of our lives, jobs and homes. During my work as an emergency nurse I see and feel many misfortunes. You learn to live with them, try to leave them in the field before returning home, but it is not always possible. Some stories stick with you. Such is the case of a recent elderly woman we treated who was suffering from the virus. The patient was in a very critical state and in respiratory distress, and if my EMS team and I did not act quickly, she would have gone into cardiac arrest. My colleague introduced the LMA® Fastrach® Airway from Teleflex. This action helped stabilize her for the ride to the hospital for further treatment.
The success of a healthcare system never depends on one professional, but on the commitment of all those who are part of the chain, including from the ones who manufacture, prepare and distribute the products so we can care for patients. Thank you Teleflex for all you do!