This story was previously published in the April 2025 edition of Connections, Dartmouth Health’s employee magazine.
It was there, and then it wasn’t.
The tracheotomy speaking valve that a patient needed to talk had gone missing at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital on a Friday afternoon in February.
“It might have happened while the linens were changed,” says Sarah Johnston, MSN, RN, CENP, CCRN, nursing director of Medical-Surgical Unit, Short Stay Unit, Cardiopulmonary and Care Management. However it happened, the valve had likely ended up in the trash.
“The patient needed another valve,” says Johnston, "but it was a specialty product we don’t carry, so it had to be found elsewhere in the system.” Johnston reached out to Matt Harris, manager of Materials Management, Supply Chain Operations, for help. “Matt is great to work with,” Johnston says. “Even if it’s a one-off random thing, he’ll find it.”
Harris searched system's inventory for the device, a Passy Muir valve that redirects airflow through the vocal folds, mouth and nose to allow for voice and improved communication. Three Dartmouth Health members had it stocked, including DHMC. He drove to the Lebanon campus to pick it up. “We made sure the patient was good to go for the weekend,” Harris says. “The patient had a lot of health challenges at that moment, both an ostomy and a tracheotomy. I can’t imagine it’s easy to lose speech capability.”
Before he took the job he has now, Harris says he used to do patient transport and was much more connected to patient care. “Today I live in the world of numbers and products, and it’s nice to know that there can still be a direct impact and you can help someone.”