TRENTON, Mich. – From COVID-19 to everyday emergencies, health care workers are busy saving lives.
But one Downriver nurse is redefining what it means to take care of her patients by going beyond the hospital bed.
“There are a lot of patients that come in and their clothes are soiled, or torn or cut off,” said Laura Thomson, a nurse at Beaumont Hospital in Trenton.
As a nurse, Thomson has a knack for helping people when they need it the most -- and that’s not limited to medical needs.
“I had a patient one day who needed to walk home because she lives very close to the hospital, and (she) did not have any shoes,” Thomson said. “She said she was happy to walk home in two pairs of hospital socks, and I was so upset. I was like, ‘I want to be able to give this lady a pair of shoes.’”
After recognizing a need, Thomson turned her frustration into a closet of donations for those at the hospital who need it.
“I just went to Target and bought a shelving unit and some bins and threw it together one day,” Thomson said. “And then everyone on the unit started pulling together and donating, and then people in the hospital heard about it and started donating.”
Thomson named the space the Brody Garrett Closet after her 12-year-old son, who she says also has a giving heart.
“It was my way of saying, ‘I see you and here you go. This is your spirit and I’m honoring you,’” Thomson said.
Though the closet hasn’t been around long, it is already making a difference.
“Patients are shocked that we’re able to just give them clothes and they can take them home,” Thomson said. “It makes them feel more comfortable and loved during the hospital process and the discharge process.”
The nurse says that people from throughout the Beaumont Health system have reached out, interested in starting up or maintaining their own closet for people in need.
Anyone interested in donating can stop by the front desk at the Beaumont Trenton hospital.
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