Emergency Department Boarding Stories

"Like the entire country, we suffer from a lack of resources/placement for adolescents with behavioral health issues. Over the summer, we had a high school aged individual in the behavioral section of the ER for nearly a month awaiting placement. This is an area of the ER in which the lights in the hall never get turned off, there are no clocks in the rooms, the TVs are behind plexiglass, and there are no windows. There are no clues to the time of the day, the weather, or the outside world when one is in this unit. As it is a part of the main ER, there are continual overhead pages and often noise/commotion from other patients at all hours of the day and night.

This poor kid, it was the first time they had seen sunlight in over two weeks...Thank goodness we had the staff that day to help them feel human.

This young person was in a hospital gown and hospital mesh underwear and hospital socks for nearly a month. Living in the ER. By themselves. As a teenager. A kid. Someone in high school. While stable in the ER, the patient was in no way safe for discharge with their family. One gorgeous summer day, I walked in to work through the employee courtyard, which is walled on three sides, and saw one of our security guards at the exit. I heard the sound of laughter. And I saw one of our fabulous nurses and this patient (in their socks, mesh undies, and open back gown) playing catch, trying to throw a ball over and around trees, and just having fun. This poor kid, it was the first time they had seen sunlight in over two weeks in the height of summer. Thank goodness we had the staff that day to help them feel human."