Persevering through a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge, with doctors and nurses suddenly asked to treat thousands of critically ill patients with little guidance on how to do so effectively. However, while the costs of the pandemic have been enormous, there have also been some bright spots in the selflessness and bravery of our healthcare workers.

Oakland University’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award for this year honored one of those healthcare heroes: Holly Creighton Franson.

A certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), Franson, took a job with John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit after earning her MSN-Nurse Anesthesia from the SON (‘09). Since then, she moved on to become the Department Lead and Clinical Site and Education Coordinator at Dingell Center while staying active as a teacher at both OU, University of Detroit Mercy, and University of Michigan Flint.

As lead nurse anesthetist at Dingell Center, Franson has been on the front line of the COVID-response there since cases first began appearing in Michigan.
“In early March, the chief of surgery asked me to provide 24/7airway coverage by CRNAs; which I did.”

The chief of surgery’s request was a significant departure from business as usual at Dingell Center, where CRNAs typically provide patient care from pre-op to post-op for surgical procedures both in the operating room and off-site locations.

“Our team intubated every single COVID-positive or COVID-suspected patient that came through, which was literally hundreds of patients,” Franson said. “We also had to acclimate to new airway therapy techniques, which involved learning how to work with new ventilators and manage patient suffering from this novel virus. Needless to say, we were extremely busy and had to learn a lot on the fly. And fortunately, we had a 100% initial success rate with airway management.”

Franson’s team success was particularly remarkable given the challenges presented by trying to treat a new disease affecting hundreds of patients with very little treatment guidance.

“There were hundreds of patients who came through the VA,” she said. “Although we normally work with veterans only, we opened our beds to civilians by accepting transfers from local hospitals. Our hours were insane. At the time, I only had seven CRNAs and with that small of a team, we were covering 24-hour shifts.”

Despite the constant adjustments and sheer exhaustion, Franson and her team persevered. “Some days, there would be four changes in protocol due to new information that was coming out — we had to be extremely flexible to work through a rapidly evolving situation,” Franson added. “And in that whole time, not a single member of our team got sick, even though we saw hundreds of patients.”

Franson is extremely proud of how her team worked through the most trying months of the pandemic and credits their success to the fact that they treated each other like family, checking in with one another and rotating shifts as necessary to let everyone catch their breath when needed.
For her, receiving this award from her alma mater is a moving honor in light of the work she and her team has done.

“Just hearing I was nominated was heart-warming for me. It felt like the ultimate thank-you.his whole pandemic has been a really stressful experience and it genuinely meant a lot to me to be recognized for what we have been doing and the success we’ve had.”

Dean Judy Didion, PhD, RN, added, “We are so proud of Holly and all of her achievements and feel that her award was very well deserved.”

Visit Oakland University Alumni Association for more information, or contact Erin Sudrovech, director of alumni engagement, at (248) 364-6136 or [email protected].