A patient was brought into the ER by their caregiver for shaking and complications from not taking medications. Kelera Hensley was assigned as the nurse and was unusually quiet throughout her shift. She took the patient outside on several occasions, even though the patient could have gone alone.
Later that afternoon Kelera approached me, a police officer in the ER, to voice her concerns. She had learned more about her patient's story and was concerned about their well being. The patient had served several tours in Afganistan and Iraq and had been severely injured after being shot in the back and having an IED go off during transport to the hospital. The caregiver began to neglect and steal from the patient, often leaving the patient for days on end with no way to communicate with anyone. The patient had no family or anyone anywhere close to Texas, they had nowhere to go, no money, no clothes or anything to their name. The time had come for the patient to be discharged and Kelera fought to get more time so that proper placement could be found, going up the ladder to the Senior VP and CNO, to get the okay to keep the patient through the weekend.
After the weekend,Kelera helped to arrange a plane ticket to get the patient home to their family and even went and bought clothes, underwear, and toiletries with her own money. When many others didn't know what to do or what the patient needed, Kelera went out of her way to learn of the patient's story, build rapport, and get the patient the help that was so desperately needed. Kelera is a true leader in the ER, she cares for people and goes above and beyond for others.