October 2025
Holly
Johnston
,
BSN, RN
ER
Ascension Sacred Heart Bay
Panama City
,
FL
United States
Through her amazing bedside manner, compassion, and ability to de-escalate any situation presented to her, she was able to calm the patient enough to allow him to enter the ED.
At 12 pm, security was called to the ED parking lot for an agitated patient pacing back and forth, possibly having a mental health crisis.
When I arrived, I attempted to talk and calm the patient, but he became more agitated with the presence of security and clearly in need of clinical intervention. The patient refused to come into the ED to be evaluated until Nurse Holly Johnson arrived.
I have witnessed this magic on more than one occasion, but today she was able to prevent security and law enforcement from potentially escalating the situation to a physical altercation. Nurse Johnson spoke to the patient, was attentive to his concerns, and redirected his attention away from his parents, security, and law enforcement.
Through her amazing bedside manner, compassion, and ability to de-escalate any situation presented to her, she was able to calm the patient enough to allow him to enter the ED. Nurse Johnson persisted with her conversation with the patient until he agreed to undergo a physician’s evaluation.
Throughout the entire encounter, the parents were beside themselves, and out of options for how to handle the crisis they were experiencing. I witnessed the sense of relief they experienced once they realized that their last-ditch effort to get help for their son was going to be productive, if not successful.
Nurse Johnson not only helped her patient, but she also helped the parents in a desperate situation, the security team, and law enforcement partners, simply by using her gift of compassion. I have observed many associates make countless attempts to de-escalate situations, but none of them have the consistent success that I have observed time and time again with Nurse Johnson.
She is a shining example of Ascension's core values. Charles Dickens famously quoted as saying, "Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts." This is what makes Nurse Johnson a truly extraordinary nurse.
When I arrived, I attempted to talk and calm the patient, but he became more agitated with the presence of security and clearly in need of clinical intervention. The patient refused to come into the ED to be evaluated until Nurse Holly Johnson arrived.
I have witnessed this magic on more than one occasion, but today she was able to prevent security and law enforcement from potentially escalating the situation to a physical altercation. Nurse Johnson spoke to the patient, was attentive to his concerns, and redirected his attention away from his parents, security, and law enforcement.
Through her amazing bedside manner, compassion, and ability to de-escalate any situation presented to her, she was able to calm the patient enough to allow him to enter the ED. Nurse Johnson persisted with her conversation with the patient until he agreed to undergo a physician’s evaluation.
Throughout the entire encounter, the parents were beside themselves, and out of options for how to handle the crisis they were experiencing. I witnessed the sense of relief they experienced once they realized that their last-ditch effort to get help for their son was going to be productive, if not successful.
Nurse Johnson not only helped her patient, but she also helped the parents in a desperate situation, the security team, and law enforcement partners, simply by using her gift of compassion. I have observed many associates make countless attempts to de-escalate situations, but none of them have the consistent success that I have observed time and time again with Nurse Johnson.
She is a shining example of Ascension's core values. Charles Dickens famously quoted as saying, "Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts." This is what makes Nurse Johnson a truly extraordinary nurse.