On Thursday, a bruised, unconscious 11-year-old female was brought to the Sutter Delta ER. My partner, Officer M, and I responded as on-duty Pittsburgh police officers due to the suspected child abuse of the juvenile at the hands of her father. Once at the ER, it was discovered that the juvenile recently moved to the US from her native country and only had her father here, whom she was very afraid of. As an immigrant who also came to this country around the same age, I could sense the juvenile’s sense of isolation and loneliness, as I also only have my father and mother in the country.

At this time, we met ER nurse Kim, who was extremely compassionate and kindhearted towards our victim. She took the time to explain tests and procedures in detail and build a genuine rapport with her. Notably, Kim sensed how afraid the victim was to speak to two male officers in uniforms. Kim showed the victim a photo of her own family and told her that her husband was black as well as her children. I thought it was incredibly kind and put the patient at ease. The level of compassion shown by Kim during a difficult situation was exemplary. My wife just graduated from RN school and is starting Kaiser’s new grad program. Maybe she should be working here because this, to me, exemplified the next level of care.