A patient required a linen change prior to the start of our shift at 17:30. The patient told Catherine he could not find his phone, and the last time he had it was before his linen was changed that morning.

This patient had a laryngectomy and has not mastered the use of his electro-larynx, and his phone is his primary form of communication. Catherine had already searched his room with no luck. She called his daughter to get his phone number, and we began to call without any luck in his room. She then went to the basement, called his phone, and heard it ringing.

I went to the basement, and we started digging through the pile of soiled linens while simultaneously ducking from oncoming linen bags falling down the chute. Eventually, the cell phone was retrieved, cleaned, and returned to the patient.