Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team at Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center
May 2022
Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team
at Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center
Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center
Charleston
,
SC
United States
Terra Sutton, BHSA, LPN
Elizabeth Call, MD
Jehad Karriem, MBA, MSN, RN
Wilson Fitchett, DNP, APRN, FNP-C

 

 

 

Thanks to the quick actions of the nurses in HPACT this patient remained safe.
In March, a Veteran walked into the Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (HPACT) clinic in a crisis. Upon triage by Jehad Karriem, RN he quickly determined that this patient had suicidal ideations and a vague plan. Using the HPACT teams group chat, the team was notified. Dr. Elizabeth Call immediately came out of a meeting and requested that the Vet be brought to her office for assessment. During the assessment, the other team members began to act. Wilson Fitchett, NP asked some questions of the Lyft driver who brought the Veteran into the hospital. Terra Sutton, LPN called the VA police and had them stage in an area to not upset the patient. At the end of Dr. Call's exam, she determined that this patient would have to go on commitment papers. This upset the vet and she immediately began to attempt to elope. At that time VA police intervened. They began the process of explaining that this vet must be evaluated in the ED. The Vet became loud, angry, and defiant. The VA police and Karriem, RN escorted the Vet down to the ED. The Vet was clearly unhappy about this situation and verbalized multiple times that she was not staying in the hospital. The staff in the ED stabilized the patient with medications and she was taken to the inpatient psych unit hours later. Thanks to the quick actions of the nurses in HPACT this patient remained safe. This incident may be common in some parts of the facility, but it is extremely uncommon in our outpatient clinics.