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After a car pulled up to the entrance Intermountain Park City Hospital Emergency Department, the driver jumped out in a panic and said her husband had suffered a heart attack and needed help fast.
The woman's husband had complained of chest pain at home, so she'd helped him into the car to take him to the hospital. On their way, he'd vomited, then become unresponsive. She'd continued her frantic drive to the hospital.
Park City's emergency room team started CPR while the man was still inside the car, then he was transported inside, where the team continued CPR and resuscitation efforts. The treatment was unsuccessful; the man died.
The car remained in front of the emergency room as other family members arrived throughout the night, including the couple's young adult children. It was clear they were traumatized by the situation.
"The car itself was a mess," says Jen Lundberg, RN, the emergency room nurse manager. "There was vomit all over the place. It had been a difficult drive to get to the ED."
Joe Knight, a critical care tech, had an idea about how to help: They could clean up the car. He and Cassi Horrocks, an EVS caregiver who has since left Intermountain and now works for the Park City School District, quickly went to work.
"Joe and Cassi wanted to do whatever they could to help this family," says Jen. "Cleaning up their car was a wonderful gesture."
Jen called the wife a few days later to follow up and see how she and the family were doing. The wife was grateful for the call, says Jen. "She told me, 'Thank you for cleanin g my car. You have no idea how much that meant to me.'"
"We were more than happy to help this family," says Joe. "Sometimes the smallest gestures really mean a lot. I put myself in her shoes and did what I felt was right."
