Exceeding Expectations in the Emergency Department

Steve realized he wanted to become a nurse when he watched nurses help his sister fight cancer. “I wanted a career where I could help people and feel challenged every day,” says Steve. Today, he is an emergency department nurse at Meritus Medical Center.

A personal connection

In an emergency department with more than 65,000 patient visits a year, Steve has ample opportunity to help people. However, touching the lives of patients in one of the busiest places in the hospital, can be a challenge, but Steve doesn’t see it that way.

“I tell my patients I’ll treat them like my family,” says Steve. “To me, they’re not just a case, they’re an individual.”

Undivided attention

When Steve transitioned from behavioral health to the emergency department, he took with him the belief that no two patients are the same. With every patient he meets, Steve pulls up a chair, listens, shows genuine concern and places his patients at ease.

Whether patients come in by ambulance or police, alone or with a family member, Steve offers quality, dignified care to all patients: young and old, chronically ill, confused, injured or homeless.

In this often intense and life-saving environment, compassion can leave a lasting impression. And that’s Steve’s intention—to touch the lives of others, one patient at a time.