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Transplant Coordinator, Riley Children’s Health Heart Transplant Center
Top honoree, Non-Physician
“I’ll never forget …”
Stories about heart transplant coordinator Debbie Murphy tend to start this way.
“I’ll never forget when nurse Debbie came into my hospital room in the middle of the night to tell us the life-saving news: A matching donor heart was available for me. I was terrified, but nurse Debbie was with me every step of the way and explained everything that was happening.”
“I’ll never forget the first meeting with Debbie. When my son was just 18 months old, he was rushed to Riley with congestive heart failure. We were scared out of our minds. She explained the transplant process ahead of us with genuine care and compassion. We felt safe and truly seen, and that’s how she has made us feel for 11 years.”
Murphy has managed more than 100 pediatric transplants since Riley Children’s Health opened its Heart Transplant Center 24 years ago. Drawing on 53 years of nursing experience, she juggles the roles of clinician, advocate, educator, case manager, surgical liaison and support system for patients and families.
Murphy’s job might start with evaluating a child who needs a transplant. Then she is the patient’s primary contact and caregiver until a donor is found—one 10-year-old waited in the hospital for 569 days. If a heart becomes available at 2 a.m., it’s not the kind of thing that can wait until morning.
After the procedure, “surveillance care” might continue throughout a patient’s life to make sure the heart remains viable and that complications are foreseen or avoided. Even developing a cold can be dangerous for someone with a heart transplant.
As patients grow up, Murphy teaches them to take responsibility for their own health care.
“When she felt the timing was right, I was given responsibilities of scheduling my next visits, lab work and medication refills to be better prepared for when I will be transferred into the adult program,” patient Kobe Brannon said. “She is my real-life superhero. Nurse Debbie is compassionate, hardworking, dedicated and the best nurse my family and I could have asked for. I am beyond thankful for nurse Debbie and will always consider her a member of my family.”
The scope of Murphy’s job goes even further.
“We’re not just interested in the child’s heart, but as a whole being,” she said. “Whether they’re having difficulties with peers or academically or issues at home, all those things can ultimately affect the heart and quality of life.”
Managing this comprehensive care is a team effort involving the patient’s pediatrician, teachers, relatives, insurance companies, and often other doctors and support services. Murphy captains the team.
“Debbie’s efforts highlight the collaborative nature of health care. I could not have done my part as a transplant cardiologist without her partnership in caring for patients,” said Riley physician Dr. Robert Darragh. “Her dedication and tireless efforts have undoubtedly been instrumental in the success of our heart center at Riley Children’s.”•
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