Joe Lopez has worked as a driver in the Transportation Department at JPS Health Network since 1993. He’s a person teammates look to when it comes to handling the toughest assignments.
“I have a way of calming people down when they’re upset,” Lopez explained. “I guess that’s because I like people and I like to help them if I can.”
Because of his can-do reputation, it was Joe who was called one day in March when a very upset elderly gentleman arrived in the Patient Care Pavilion lobby looking for his wife. It was a day that started like any other. But it would be one that Lopez said he’ll never forget for the rest of his life.
The man, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, had trouble communicating. But he was able to tell Lopez that he drove to JPS all the way from Burleson because he learned his wife had been taken to a hospital in Fort Worth. He was desperate to find her. When the man got to the information desk, there was no record of his bride being admitted at JPS. He was overwhelmed with frustration and confusion.
After a bit of research, it was discovered that the reason the man’s wife couldn’t be found at the health network was because she wasn’t a JPS patient. She was admitted at Medical City Fort Worth instead. The man feared he was going to be on his own to find his way across town to an unfamiliar place. But Joe put his arm around the shoulder of his new friend and told him not to worry. He’d personally make sure the couple would be reunited as soon as possible.
“He insisted that he didn’t want to leave his car behind,” Lopez said. “So I told him that I would drive slowly in the right-hand lane and he could follow me all the way there. I’d be his escort.”
The parking lot is not where the journey ended, however. Joe parked his van and walked the man into the medical center where he helped him find out what room his wife was in. After Lopez found the room number, he took the man all the way to his wife's bedside. When Joe and his new friend found the room, the lights were off but the window shade was open which made it difficult for their eyes to adjust to the darkness.
“I could see that there was a woman in the bed,” Joe recalled. “We stood there for a second and she looked over and reached out her hand toward her husband. She said ‘you found me!’”
Joe lifted his arm, which was still around his new friend’s shoulder, to allow the man to go to his wife’s side. As Lopez did, he could see a tear of joy and relief trail down the man’s cheek.
“That’s when it really got to me,” Lopez said. “It was so emotional. It still chokes me up to talk about it. I have to take a second to get myself together.”
Joe’s usual duties include taking cancer patients to and from treatments and picking up new and expecting mothers to take them to their appointments. After 25 years on the job, he’s starting to see people he met as newborn babies climb into his van as adults, a special treat, although he finds every trip to be rewarding. Still, Joe said the singular event of helping to reunite the elderly couple stands out among his many JPS experiences. He’s just grateful to have been able to help.
Lopez was honored this week at the monthly Leadership Connection meeting at JPS. He said he didn’t feel like he deserved extra recognition because he knows any one of his team members would have made the same effort if they were the person to get the call. So, he brought all his coworkers from the Transportation Department along with him to the meeting to share the accolades.
“There’s not a person up here who wouldn’t do the same,” Lopez said, gesturing to the other people in his department. “That’s the great thing about working here.”