Recently, the Center for Mental Health had multiple patients with complex medical issues. This is not typical for our area. Our patients are usually mobile and relatively medically healthy. However, in the last two months, we had two very medically complex patients who also suffer from difficulty regulating their emotions. Most days, Andrea came into work and took both of these medically complex cases.
One of these patients was a young lady who was in the DCFS system for almost all of her life until she aged out at 21 years old. When she came to our unit, she had multiple open wounds that needed dressing changes daily, among other medical issues. On top of her medical complexities, she often had outbursts and became verbally aggressive with staff.
Andrea worked with this patient day in and day out, even when she was being yelled at for just doing her normal work duties. And she did it all with a smile. This patient was on the unit for many weeks awaiting placement in a nursing home.
On the day of discharge, Andrea brought in a nice, new duffel bag for the patient's belongings. I happened to witness Andrea grabbing the bag and asked her what she had. She shared with me that the patient had grown up in the DCFS system and always had to bring her belongings to her next placement in garbage bags.
Andrea stated, "I did not want her to go to a new place with her belongings in garbage bags. She is nervous as it is." I watched Andrea hand the patient the bag and help her pack. When Andrea gave the patient the bag, the patient's face lit up, and she appeared as if she were going to cry.