By Andrea Nagel
Kelsey Shutes
is a lucky girl. She
is a high school graduate with a
loving family, a winning cheer squad
and thousands of friends—3,868
of them, according to her Facebook
page. But even more, Kelsey has
a second chance; and a team
of trauma experts that made it
possible.
On Feb. 8, Kelsey drove home
from Moscow after competing in
the district cheerleading competi-
tion where her squad, the Bonners
Ferry Badgers, won and sealed a
place in the state competition. Just
a few miles from her home, Kelsey
was involved in a head-on collision
and was seriously injured. Due to
the severity of her injuries, she was
airlifted to Kootenai Health, where
she remained for three weeks.
“We lived at the hospital during
that time,” Kelsey’s mother, Carrie,
said. “The nurses even turned their
break room into a mini hotel room
so we could be close to her. They
treated us like family.”
Kelsey’s father, George, was also
impressed with the amount of care
and attention his daughter received
during their stay.
“The nurses went beyond her
health care,” he said. “They took
an interest in her as a person and
went so far as to brush and braid
her hair. We had the same experi-
ence with her physicians. Even
after their part was done, Drs.
Holman and Ganz continued to
visit and check in to make sure she
was OK. It’s strange to say, but this
wasn’t a bad experience.”
Kelsey’s sister, Lexi, started a
“Pray for Kelsey” Facebook page
that ended up with a total of—you
guessed it—3,868 followers from
all over northern Idaho. Prayers,
photos and well wishes still grace
it today. Along with the Pray for
Kelsey page, an account was started
to help raise money for medical
bills—raising over $10,000.
“We can’t say thank you enough
to everyone,” George said. “We
really can’t.”
“When I came home people
were lining the streets, signs were
everywhere, I felt a little like a
celebrity,” Kelsey said. “It was
weird; my mom and I went back to
the hospital and a lot of the nurses
got excited to see me but I couldn’t
remember who they were. I felt like
I needed to thank them for what
they did for me.”
L E A R N M O R E
about
Trauma Services at
KH.org
.
Pray
for Kelsey
A F T E R A C A R A C C I D E N T , A B O N N E R S
F E R R Y T E E N D E F I E S T H E O D D S
TRAUMA CARE
TESTED EXCELLENCE
Not long after Kelsey’s accident, Kootenai was verified as a Level III
Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons Committee on
Trauma. To receive verification, Kootenai had to prove it has the hospital
resources needed for trauma care and can provide the entire spectrum
of care to meet all of an injured patient’s needs. Reviewers evaluated
every phase of trauma patient care.
“The trauma team extends far beyond the emergency room,” said
D’Arcy Luckett, B.S.N., trauma program manager at Kootenai Health.
“For Kelsey, this trauma team started with the EMS and emergency crew
in Bonners Ferry, her MedStar team, and Kootenai’s trauma team, which
includes everyone and every aspect of care from our emergency staff to
the ICU, and finally her rehabilitation at the new Rehabilitation Hospital
of the Northwest in Post Falls. It’s a much larger team than you’d think.”
KH . ORG
5
