During the past month, the Emergency Department (ED) has had a long-term patient. This patient had tallied 1,040 hours with us in the ED. This patient is developmentally delayed, and our department has been working diligently with community resources and has had a hard time finding a safe home for him due to his occasional aggressive behavior.

Over his time here, we have tried our best to care for all his needs, and Andres has gone above and beyond to do so. It is heartbreaking for a patient to be stuck in a room with no windows in an ED, especially for over a month and a half. Andres has come in on his day off multiple times to spend one-on-one time with this patient. He has left to go home after working a night shift, only to nap for a few hours and then return to the ED to be there to provide some sort of social engagement for him.

Andres brought him water guns, a basketball, a soccer ball, among other things, to help stimulate and entertain this patient. He takes him outside so he can get some sunshine and fresh air. One of the things that our patient’s teacher has identified as beneficial for him is movement. Andres has been an integral part of making sure that he gets his exercise, which also helps with his mood, keeping him calm and safe here in the ED.