Hudson County Nurse Rescues Missing Elderly Man On Hot Day

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — A veteran nurse from Bayonne is being applauded for her compassion and common sense after she took the extra step to help an elderly stranger on a sweltering summer day.

Bayonne resident Sonia Romero could have just kept walking when she came across a “confused” elderly man sitting on a stoop of a neighbor’s home. She was with her granddaughter, after all, and the day was a scorcher.

But when Romero noticed that the man didn’t live there – and that he didn’t have any water – her 30-plus years of training as a nurse kicked in, the Bayonne Office Of Emergency reported.

As Romero spoke to the man, she learned that he was far from his home in Union City. He had no keys, no wallet, no real knowledge of where was actually was. But the veteran nurse talked to him and made sure that he stayed calm while she could put a plan into action.

Romero called her son Francisco and asked him to dial 911. After calling emergency responders, Francisco then brought some cool water to the man, which he thirstily gulped down, authorities said.

Within minutes, Bayonne police officers and McCabe Ambulance responded and provided the appropriate care for this man, who as it turned out, was reported missing from Union City. Authorities were able to reunite the man with his “very concerned family,” bringing the story to a happy conclusion, the Bayonne OEM stated.

“I think many people may have ignored this poor man, but I wanted this story to get out so that that doesn’t happen in Bayonne,” Romero said. “People need to look out for each other and report anything that doesn’t seem right… Everyone should be aware of their surroundings.”

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