Recently my family has suffered some losses, and our lives have changed dramatically. Every member of our family is in some level of crisis. When my daughter started struggling beyond a point at which I could manage to keep her safe, our family made the decision to come to the Stress Center. It wasn’t easy to decide to get her help as we knew it would mean parting with her for some time. However, when deciding where to give her care, the Stress Center Youth Inpatient unit was always going to be the place I would take any child in my family. Simply put, the youth unit is the most smoothly run unit, and it is the best chance any kiddo would have to get better when struggling with anxiety and depression. This unit has the most consistent staff, the most expert staff, and certainly has the most compassionate staff of any unit I have ever interacted with. Joe is one of the most senior members of the Stress Center team, but he is also one of the kindest people I know. I never had any doubt that my daughter would be safe, well cared for, and if she chose to get help, that she would in fact get the help she needed. Joe was kind and firm with my daughter and really pushed her to process in groups. When my child would call me and be very surface with me, refusing to talk about important issues, Joe would have her call back, saying, “Let's try this again”. He was lovely to my family and patient with all of us. He responded to every call from us with kindness and responded as if he had all the time in the world to talk us through anything we needed. Accessing mental health services and admitting you can’t help your child is an awful feeling. But, knowing that Joe was there with my child was a relief.

One of Joe’s finest qualities is that he enjoys interacting with the children on the unit. He is one of the nurses who goes out of his way to run the groups with the kids so he can get to know them and be part of their recovery. He takes his job very seriously and wants to be involved in all aspects of the care they receive on the unit. I don’t know many nurses who go out of the way to do more, but Joe is certainly one of those nurses.

I cannot say how thankful I am to the Youth inpatient team, but specifically to Joe Spurgeon. I have my daughter back, and she is doing well. I know that we wouldn’t have been able to see her smile again without Joe’s help. So, thank you Joe, and thank you Stress Center.