ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The busiest day you can think of at your job might be considered a regular day inside the Swedish Medical Center Emergency Department.
“Yeah, we pretty much just never stop,” Brian Sparrow, a registered nurse at Swedish, said.
Swedish has the busiest ER department in the entire HealthONE system. That includes over the holidays.
“People are gonna get sick, whether it's Christmas Day or any day of the week. People need medical attention,” Sparrow added.
That means front line workers need to be at work to respond.
“You miss holidays, you miss breakfasts, you miss dinners, you miss time, you know, spending time with your family,” Swedish RN Clarisza Runtung said.
“Me and my wife are both in health care. And we usually do Christmas day a couple days before,” Sparrow said.
The nursing team told Denver7, they see a lot of patients struggling with mental health issues over the holidays.
“It is probably not the first place that you want to hang out with on Christmas Day,” Runtung said, explaining how they address the holidays with patients. “But hey, we're here for you. Anything that you encounter, we'll be here.”
So as a small token of appreciation for their time and effort, Denver7 anchor Jason Gruenauer surprised the nurses in the emergency department with breakfast, courtesy of Safeway.
“Being appreciated gives me the inspiration to want to even work harder,” Sparrow said.
“It reminds us of why we're here and why we do what we do,” Runtung added.
Denver7 also asked the nursing team for a nonprofit they support. They chose the Miracle League of Metro Denver, an organization that gives kids and adults with mental or physical challenges an opportunity to play baseball.
“We’re going to open up a Denver7 Gives fund so our viewers can donate, and then all that money will be given to the Miracle League in your name,” Gruenauer told the nursing team.
For more information on the Miracle League and what they do, click here.
Denver7 features the stories of people who need help and now you can help them with a cash donation through Denver7 Gives. One hundred percent of contributions to the fund will be used to help people in our local community.
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