A few weeks ago, Theresa had a patient that did not show up for his appointment. She tried calling him between her other appointments that morning with no answer. Just before lunch, she looked up his emergency contact in Cerner, his sister, and gave her a call. His sister noted she was out of town, and simultaneously, she too had not talked with him for several days. She expressed her guilt that it had been a few days and Theresa reassured her there was no reason to feel bad.

Because neither had heard from the patient, Theresa let the sister know she was going to call 911 and request a well check. 911 responded to the patient's house. They broke down his door and found him on his bathroom floor where he had fallen and been for several days. He was alive but very dehydrated, had wounds, and a head injury. They took him to the hospital. Later that afternoon, Theresa received an update from the sister regarding all that transpired. The sister expressed her gratitude to Theresa for saving her brother's life due to her care, compassion, and follow through. She requested Theresa tell others in our department that if an elderly or sick patient no-shows an appointment, to follow-up with the patient and/or their emergency contact because you never know why they no-showed, and in this case, can result in the patient receiving care when they need it most. We are very grateful to have Theresa as a nurse here in our department. She is a true example to us all!