Sometimes compassionate care comes in the form of a quiet, soft-spoken, understanding voice. Ryan cares for patients on the evening and nocturnal shifts. About 15 months ago, we got a challenging, non-compliant young female addict as a patient. She was participating in a program trying to get clean. Due to her lifestyle and poor decisions, she had lost custody of 2 beautiful young daughters. She also made poor health choices. She was living in a companion’s vehicle and had no fixed address. She had not been assigned to Ryan's shift, but frequently did not come for her scheduled treatment time. Therefore, she was re-scheduled to the evening shift and ended up being on evenings more often than not.

Ryan showed compassion and patience when dealing with her. He did not judge. He would call her repeatedly when she did not show, allowing her to treat right up till the end of his shift. He would attempt to get her in the following day if she missed treatment. The excuses were endless, but he did not lose patience or allow his aggravation to show or come across in his care or interactions with her. He tried to educate her on caring for herself to prevent further injury to her body. He kept physicians and the team updated on her high blood pressure, elevated potassium levels (life-threatening at times), and her overall condition. I am happy to say that we have kept her alive for over a year. I believe if it were not for the persistence of Ryan, his caring, non-judgmental attitude, and the compassion he displayed, it would have been a different story. In the true spirit of our name, “DaVita,” we did give “life” to this patient.