I wanted to share this story because Lucaya really went above and beyond to protect her patient from fraud, and her actions made a difference. Lucaya had overheard one of her patients on the phone with someone claiming to be from his bank, pressuring him to transfer $24,000 immediately to avoid penalties or something of the sort.

Sensing something wasn’t right, Lucaya asked the patient if she could call his bank to verify the situation. He agreed at first, and when she contacted the bank, they confirmed her suspicions- the patient was being targeted by scammers, and he needed to hang up right away. When Lucaya relayed this information, the patient became frustrated and insisted that she leave him alone.

He was convinced that he had to make the transfer, and he did despite knowing it was a scam. Lucaya respected his autonomy since he was alert and oriented, though she felt deeply conflicted about not being able to stop him. The next day, the patient was remorseful, realizing what had happened. The team hesitated to bring it up, knowing how overwhelmed he already was after the incident.

By the end of the shift, the patient received a call from his bank. They had stopped the transfer after verifying Lucaya’s earlier warning. Lucaya's quick thinking and advocacy had saved him $24,000.