A homeless Veteran was admitted to our Acute Care Unit from one of Erie's homeless shelters. Upon arriving on the unit, this Veteran expressed great concern for his belongings that had been left behind at the homeless shelter he had been staying at. His fear was that if he didn't return within 24 hours, that his belongings would be discarded.
Navy Veteran Matt Wilczynski RN was one of the nurses working on Unit 5 at the time the homeless Veteran was admitted. It should be mentioned that Matt volunteered to work a double tour to help with staffing needs so Matt was still working when I arrived. During Matt's double tour, after hearing of the Veteran's concerns for his belongings, Matt attempted several times to reach the shelter by phone without success. After working 16 hours and still not being able to make phone contact with the shelter, Matt voluntarily drove approximately 31 blocks to the shelter before beginning his 30-mile drive home in an attempt to check on the homeless Veteran's belongings.
Matt called back to the Acute Unit to notify our staff and ultimately the homeless Veteran that the belongings would be secured and maintained by the shelter until the Veteran could return to retrieve them, which helped to lessen the homeless Veteran's anxiety and concern. Thank you, Matt, for your dedication to our unit and to the Veterans we serve and care for.