Page 12 - Silver Linings Issue3

A symphony at night
Darkness has descended on Silver Hill Hospital on this humid, moonless summer night. The day crew left hours ago, patients and residents are asleep, and soft lighting through the haze in the thick air illuminates the houses and buildings in a calming glow. Katydids and crickets create a classic late summer din, while a pair of barred owls hoot back and forth from the woods along the banks of the Silvermine River...
Inside the buildings, the night crew goes about the task of keeping the hospital running smoothly into and through the wee hours.
Sarah Burke, the evening nursing supervisor, brings a stack of papers to a table where overnight nursing supervisor John “Jack” Coffey is sitting, thus starting their midnight ritual. Sarah goes over the papers one-by-one to brief Jack on how each of the patients is doing. Sarah works from 4 p.m. to midnight and Jack is on from midnight to 8 a.m., a shift he has covered at Silver Hill for the past 23 years.
Sarah lets Jack know that a patient on Main 2 was not feeling well earlier and had been
Finally, at Main 3, Jack checks in on psych tech Kelly and nurse Mayra, who are working together in the inpatient adolescent unit. Everything is quiet as they monitor charts and write reports.
Across Valley Road, where the residential houses are located, all is quiet, except of course for those barred owls in the woods by the river.
Joe Silvia is the residential counselor at Steward House on this night. He has worked all shifts at Silver Hill and has been the RC
12 innearlyalltheresidentialhouses.Hehas mixed feelings about the overnight shift but appreciates that he is available to his family during the day. He says the shift is usually
transported to the emergency room at Norwalk Hospital. The patient is due to return to Silver Hill soon and Sarah uses a two-way radio to alert security to be on the lookout
for an ambulance. Annias Moore, the night security officer, acknowledges the message.
Otherwise, things appear to be quiet, although Sarah would never say that aloud. She, too, has been around long enough to know that things can change quickly.
“You’re security, you’re taxi, you’re pharmacy, you’re IT, you’re housekeeping, you’re food services, you’re the police liaison, you’re everything,” Sarah says about working the night shift.
quiet, although the staff needs to be always on high alert.
“Usually nothing happens, but when it does you have to be ready,” Joe says. “When things are going on it requires immediate attention.”
The overnight staff plays a vital role in the success of Silver Hill Hospital. While most people are asleep, the night staff works hard to ensure the safety and well-being of the hospital’s patients.
“The night crew are the unsung heroes,” Sarah says. “Night nurses and techs take care of the patients half the time, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. They’re a collaborative bunch. They help each other.”