Devon Haley
November 2019
Devon
Haley
,
BSN, RN
TJUH Medical Intensive Care Unit
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Philadelphia
,
PA
United States

 

 

 

After a long day of working in the MICU, Devon Haley was traveling home on the train. At her stop, she spotted a very confused elderly man who missed his station. Unfortunately, this particular stop was not handicap accessible, and he needed the aid of a walker for mobility. Devon watched as the train emptied out, leaving this man to fend for himself as he struggled down the train stairs to the platform. She gently helped him to the platform, then guided him up three more flights to the other platform where he would wait for the next train to his home station. As she walked to her car, she had a feeling this stranger was not going to be able to navigate the train. It was dark, and he was more confused and disoriented. Devon returned to the bench to talk to the man, and she found he was wandering around the platform. While speaking with her, he could not tell Devon his name or address, and he did not have a wallet. She guided him to her car and unsuccessfully attempted to find his apartment building.
Devon drove back to the train station and notified the police. Devon also found his phone, dialed the last number called and reached his wife. As they waited on the bench, Devon continued talking with the elderly gentleman. Although this stranger could not remember his name, he told her he was an OBGYN for 60 years at two local hospitals. She gently told him that it was meant to be that they met that night as she was seven months pregnant. This made the man smile as he fussed over her, forgetting his current predicament. The police and his wife eventually arrived to bring the man home. He was lost, confused, and embarrassed, but Devon never made him feel bad. She just sat with him and talked. Although she was tired the next day, Devon knew she had been in the right place at the right time that night and went above and beyond to help an elderly man while treating him with dignity and respect. Even though she was not at the hospital, Devon continued to represent Jefferson's mission, vision, and values and showed what a Jefferson nurse truly represents.