There was a sad incident this week on our block. An elderly resident, who had been released from Alexandria Hospital two days before, called for an ambulance again. Her husband, whom the neighbors on the block had been caring for, would have been left alone. He is in poor health as well. In addition, there were two animals in the house who needed to be fed and walked.
A call was made to Adult Protective Services describing their plight.
An ambulance arrived and the medics went into the house to assess the situation and they agreed that the wife should be transported to the hospital and that the husband could not be left alone. The medic made a call to Community and Human Services and a fire captain working for the agency that day came to take command and make decisions. She was efficient, decisive and caring. She called the animal shelter which quickly sent an employee carrying two animal carriers to round up the dog and the cat. They will be boarded at the shelter until a later time. Three Alexandria police officers were also present in case needed.
A second ambulance arrived to take the husband to the hospital and the fire captain went on ahead to make sure that the couple did not get separated at the hospital. As of this writing, husband and wife are in the same room.
Many of the neighbors witnessed the goings-on and I as one, was really impressed and gratified to see how well the city can respond to this kind of emergency. I know that the city receives much grumbling and many complaints. I just want to be sure that city workers receive praise for the work they do.
Miriam Olinger
Alexandria