July 2019
David
Wells
,
RN
Emergency Department
Merit Health River Oaks
Flowood
,
MS
United States
An elderly gentleman in the Emergency Department had been treated and discharged and was awaiting a ride home. His family arrived later and insisted that he be admitted for nursing home placement. When David saw the patient, he realized he was covered in bed bugs. He immediately intervened and took care of this patient's needs before transferring him to an inpatient unit. This was done during an extremely busy shift in the ED. David was recognized by one of our ED physicians who was impressed that David did not complain but simply took the necessary steps to care for the patient. He described David as "an outstanding nurse," and stated, "I wish there were more like him."