I want to give a shout-out to Tammy Burskey for her help today with an aggressive behavioral health patient. Tammy quickly jumped in to help de-escalate the patient and built rapport with her right off the bat.

She was firm and direct with her, but was also very effective in verbally de-escalating her to the best of her ability. When all other measures failed, she was right there to help us keep the patient safe. She stayed with the patient to continue the rapport she established.

Verbal de-escalation is a skill not all healthcare workers have, and she is phenomenal at it. I was so grateful to have her here. She was there when she didn’t need to be, she continued to help when she didn’t need to, and she stayed when she didn’t need to stay. This situation could’ve been a lot worse if she weren’t there.