Page 13 - Silver Linings Issue3

After the briefing, Jack checks his emails, calls each of the units and residential houses and starts his rounds to visit the nurses and psychiatric technicians in Main House, where Silver Hill’s Inpatient Service units are located. The residential counselors across the street on the East Campus know Jack is only a phone or radio call away if they need him.
“I’ve always thought of the job as being like the shortstop on a baseball team,” Jack says. “You have to move around a
lot and back people up. The other shifts don’t always have time to go through the documentation with a fine-toothed comb. I spend a lot of time going over charts at night. We don’t want to miss anything.”
Jack visits Main House at about 12:30 a.m. The doors requiring a fob to unlock make a loud, sharp noise when they latch, so Jack uses a trick to gently and quietly pull them shut. Sleep is a major concern for many patients and the night crew is careful to make as little noise as possible.
At Main 1, nurse Chris and psych tech Allison are sitting quietly in an office going over charts. Chris, a former radio DJ, became a nurse later in his career after being dissatisfied with how his father and other nursing home residents were treated. Jack speaks with Chris and Allison briefly , then makes his way to Main 2, which is typically the busiest unit.
In Main 2, nurses Eric and Yonatan and psych techs Joanna, Kris, Shanalee and Chris are coordinating their efforts. The patient who had previously been at Norwalk Hospital had returned to Silver Hill shortly after midnight and another patient needing attention is sitting in a chair by the nursing station.
Eric and Yonatan are sorting and double- checking medications in a small room behind the station.
Both patients are tended to and nothing above a whisper is heard as the Main 2 crew works in collaboration to do what is needed to keep the unit quiet and calm.
Joanna has worked at Silver Hill for 17 years. Chris is relatively new and will soon be returning to school to work on his master’s degree. While working the overnight shift
is not ideal for everyone, Joanna and Chris enjoy the night shift for different reasons. For Joanna, working nights gives her more time during the day to be with her family. Chris says: “I love the people here. They are very caring.”
After more than two decades working the overnight shift, Jack continues to enjoy the work.
“You feel like you’re making an impact,” he says. “Some people really turn it around while they are here.”
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SILVER LININGS MAGAZINE | ISSUE THREE | FALL 2021