I wish I knew years ago that our organization is fortunate to have someone as wonderful as Leah. My team has had many years of caring for behaviorally complex patients on our inpatient medical floor and we have always struggled to find appropriate care plans and ways to emotionally care for these patients while keeping ourselves and our patients safe in our environment. Had I known Leah and how willing she is to always help I would have reached out to her long ago.
The particular story that brought Leah and my team together was one that started in the winter of 2016. Our patient had been with us for about three months at the time and we were struggling. The patient had made calls to the police, thrown his urine, screamed hurtful words and had thrown things down the hallway and attempted many times to try to elope. Security calls were as high as seven times in one week trying to get the patient to be compliant. We kept trying to restrict the patient and make him understand that he "was the patient and we are the staff and you can't do these things in the hospital". It was a long three months for the staff and our patients, and especially for him.
My administrator Jackie Buck put us in contact with Frank Beel, Leah's supervisor, and after a quick team meeting with them both, we began a new approach, collaborating with the patient to find a way to meet him halfway.
We sat down with the patient and talked about what things meant the most to him and how to keep those in the care plan but also what should happen if he wasn't able to stay engaged with our need to maintain safety on the unit.
We made incredible progress after that conversation and adjusting our approach like Leah had suggested. So much so that Leah was open to helping take the patient over to her floor once a week for him to do his laundry, eat lunch and take part in any activities the unit had going on. She took her own personal time to come escort him over to Harding, usually helping carry his belongings. Then after her shift, she would again take the time to walk him back safely to his room on our unit. She took the time to do this every week for about two months. We often also called her throughout the week to help us navigate through any new concerns and she was always willing to take the time to help us determine what approach to take.
A few days before our patient left us to go back to his facility, Leah came to take the patient to lunch, just so he could feel "like normal people" (his words). She truly understands and cares for the person under the "difficult patient" and watching her interact with him was personally inspiring and so educational. She is patient and compassionate and I'm so glad that we have formed this partnership with her and her team to achieve the best care for all our patients!