The Emergency Department exemplified our Prisma Health mission statement (Serve with Compassion, Inspire Health, Be the Difference) recently with an extended stay patient in December of 2021. There was a significantly difficult situation with this patient requiring social work who had been dropped off by her family with no plans to let her return home, but instead, wait on placement at a facility when the patient had no medical complaints or reason to board in the ED. The patient had been so upset during this time regarding this situation and was often tearful, angry, and just sad. I witnessed this team do everything they could to make her feel better and loved during a time when she felt abandoned.

The team started with getting a recliner for the patient to sit in, as those ED stretchers can get very hard. The patient was spending multiple entire days in that unit, so getting her out of bed was imperative for her comfort and health. Crossword puzzles were provided, along with listening ears and therapeutic touch. It was right around Christmas, and the patient had been boarding in the ED for a few days. As a team, they took this patient in as one of their own family members and bought her 2 pairs of pants, 2 shirts, some tennis shoes, bedroom shoes, socks, and underwear so that she could have clean and decent clothing. I witnessed incredible care and concern for this patient, from the ED secretaries, techs, and nurses.

While the ED can be an extremely volatile and busy unit, this team did not hesitate to stop and give a little extra TLC to someone who could really use it. I am extremely proud of them and admire their big hearts for those we serve in this community.