Tracy Bettencourt
July 2025
Tracy
Bettencourt
,
RN
Pediatric Clinic
UMass Memorial Medical Center
Worcester
,
MA
United States
Tracy realized the increased urgency of the situation and decided, with the PCP, to call the police and have them conduct a wellness check.
Tracy has long been an exemplary pediatric nurse who is incredibly thorough, compassionate, knowledgeable, and dedicated to our patients and their families. One afternoon, she received a telephone message regarding a patient who had expressed wanting to talk to someone about the recent passing of their younger sister, who had committed suicide. She stated having issues sleeping and had been feeling excessively sad. Tracy immediately recognized that this patient was at a high risk of suicide and began trying to contact her, without success. She also made multiple attempts to contact the patient’s parents, but could not get in contact with anyone listed in the patient’s contact list. Tracy then consulted the patient’s PCP, who disclosed that when the patient was seen in November, the patient had divulged that they were suicidal and had a plan, but the PCP was able to get the help they required before the patient acted on their impulses. Tracy realized the increased urgency of the situation and decided, with the PCP, to call the police and have them conduct a wellness check. The police found the patient and brought them to the Emergency Department. Tracy could have removed herself from the situation after making multiple attempts to contact the patient and leaving a message, but her intuition and dedication to high-quality patient care pushed her to see the urgency of the issue and do the best for the patient. I truly believe that Tracy’s actions saved this patient’s life.