Doylestown Health Patients Vote Courtesy Of Hospital Staff, County Elections Board

Over than 20 inpatients at Doylestown Hospital were given the opportunity to vote Tuesday thanks to the help of hospital staff and the Bucks County Board of Elections.

According to a press release from the facility, patients told nursing staff they wanted to vote early Tuesday, which led to the Bucks County Board of Election to send forms for "emergency voting."

Emergency voting requires a representative of the patient to appear before a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas to verify that the voter is currently an inpatient and to obtain a ballot, the press release said. The ballot is taken to the patient who completes it, and then returned to the Board of Elections office for processing, the release said.

Earl Snyder, an Associate working in the Nursing Administration office, assumed the role of patient representative and made two trips to the Bucks County Justice Center and the Bucks County Courthouse on behalf of the patients to complete the emergency voting process.

"With interest high in this election, we had numerous requests from patients who wanted to vote," said Senior Executive Director of Nursing Services Patti Stover, RN said in the release. "So many staff members from different areas of the hospital stepped up to help our patients, from early in the morning until 6:30 p.m. that night."

“Our patients were very grateful,” Snyder said. “We didn’t solicit their interest in voting – they are the ones who expressed interest, and we did our best to fulfill their wishes.”

The initial set of forms had to be notarized by administration staff, which was done at no cost to patients by Kathy Taras and Aileen Fortna, and signed by a physician – Dr. Oleg Vinnikov – who attested to the voter’s inpatient status.

Nursing administration staffers Ria Whalen and Marguerite Fedele helped organize and collate the forms, while nursing unit directors Lisa Saalfrank, Leann Warfel, and Terri Long helped collect ballots on the patient floors.

Individual nurses and case management representatives alerted the team to a patient’s desire to vote. Security Director Steve White escorted Snyder on his trips to the justice center and courthouse.

"I couldn’t be more proud of the staff and how they went above and beyond their duties to assist our patients in a unique way," President and CEO of Doylestown Health Jim Brexler said. "Their actions are exemplary and a tribute to American democracy."

Patch file photo