Gregory Whyte

My Proud Story...

In December, I was called for patient intervention in the Secured Holding area at our Monroe campus. I arrived in Secured Holding and saw a 14 year old autistic male who did not respond to verbal commands. The patient was very agitated and was running around in the area. He would not stay in his room. I tried to see if the patient would respond to hand gestures. The patient did not respond. Nothing the emergency technician, registered nurse or I tried would calm the patient. So the registered nurse called the young man’s parents. His father got to the hospital and he wasn’t able to calm him down either. At this point, I decided to not be a security officer for a moment and tried to be a parent. I gave the patient a bear hug from behind and got him down on the bed. I then sat down on the bed and put his head in my lap. I held both his arms across his chest with my right hand and used my left hand to gently rub his head. He started to respond to the head rub stimulation. A registered nurse arrived and administered medication to the patient. I sat with him for about an hour and a half holding both arms across his chest and rubbing his head until he fell asleep. The patient’s father thanked me and said that I am the first person who ever took the time and patience to deal with his son.

Gregory Whyte
Security Officer
St. Luke’s Monroe Campus