I wanted to take a moment to formally recognize Sutton Buck for his conduct and leadership during a recent APS-related incident last week.​

As you are aware, situations involving APS can escalate quickly, particularly when emotions are already running high. During this event, the APS worker arrived on the unit, did not present identification to staff, and the interaction unfortunately became tense, culminating in the patient’s son-in-law escalating toward multiple team members. Throughout all of this, Sutton held the line with professionalism and composure. His focus remained steadfastly on the safety of the entire unit, staff, and patients, even as circumstances became challenging.​

What stood out most was not just Sutton’s calm presence in the moment, but his professionalism afterward. He came to the Case Management office to debrief and seek clarification on SOP for APS visits to the hospital, demonstrating genuine humility, curiosity, and commitment to doing things the right way. That kind of reflective leadership is rare and deeply valuable.​

It is easy to be pleasant when situations are smooth. It’s when things go sideways that we truly see a person’s character. In that moment, Sutton showed grace, integrity, and respect for a fellow professional outside our organization, even when that professionalism was not reciprocated. That speaks volumes about who he is and the standards he holds himself to.​

Sutton’s actions deserve more than a brief blurb. His composure, humility, and leadership reinforced trust across disciplines and modeled exactly how we keep our units safe while maintaining dignity and respect.

Note: This is Sutton's 2nd DAISY Award!