Laurel Ostergaard, RN

Today a gentleman walked into the lobby very intoxicated, loudly demanding to be admitted. When told we do not do direct admits he became even more demanding and loud. Because of his condition, the adult Mental Health Unit was called to have a nurse come down to speak with this gentleman. Laurel came down and sat with this distraught person and repeatedly explained the process. The whole time she was interrupted with swearing, personal verbal attacks, and pushback. She remained calm, persistent, and totally fixed on words and phrases of encouragement. An example she used was “ so you say you have been sober for an amount of time, that is good, so you can do it again”, “I cannot let you drive in this condition, I do not want you to get hurt or hurt someone else”. She did a wonderful job of de-escalation and caring. To observe this (about an hour) metamorphosis from a totally belligerent, loud and get out of my face angry individual to a person opening up, having hope, and sincerely thanking Laurel as they found him safe transportation to Spring Street was wonderful to observe. His treatment had already started thanks to a persistent caring professional who saw beneath the tough, loud abrasive exterior that there was a cry for help. I have had the privilege of working in Mental Health Units and observing interactions of others in de-escalation situations but seldom observed this kind without medication backup. It was truly a Best Practice moment in action.