Residents, faculty give back through Operation Nightwatch

Each month on the 29th, residents and faculty leave the emergency department behind to gather in a kitchen. This tradition is part of Operation Nightwatch, a grassroots, volunteer-led organization that provides meals and shelter for unhoused individuals in Seattle.

Residency Program Administrator Madeline Sayed began volunteering with the organization in 2017 as part of her capstone project at the University of Washington School of Public Health. She continued to volunteer after joining the Department of Emergency Medicine and began inviting residents and faculty to join her.

"Harborview Medical Center's mission is to serve the most vulnerable members of our community, and our department is made up of people who hold that value deeply," said Sayed. "I’ve been with the residency program for 5 years and have seen an overwhelming interest in community service opportunities. Unfortunately, there aren’t many that work with busy, unpredictable resident schedules. Operation Nightwatch, like the ED, is open every day of the year. They provide a hot meal nightly and rely on community groups to purchase, prepare, and serve these meals."

This month, resident Kelly Stewart was among the group of volunteers. On the menu: gumbo and rice, coleslaw, cornbread, and banana pudding. Stewart, who enjoys cooking, appreciates the opportunity to connect with the community outside of the emergency department.

"A lot of the times the folks that come into the emergency department, we can't give them exactly what they need. We don't have the resources to help them," explained Stewart. "Coming here, we can give people exactly what they need. They need somewhere warm to eat healthy, nutritious food. And we can do that."

The group started small, but word quickly spread throughout the department. As a result, they were able to officially adopt a night for UW emergency medicine volunteers and their families to cook and serve dinner to over 150 neighbors.

"Feeding a crowd is expensive, and we wouldn’t be able to do it without the generosity of our Assistant Program Director, Dr. Buresh. Working in the ED is stressful, but I’m grateful we’re able to provide a space outside of the hospital for residents, faculty, and staff to drop in and have fun serving our community."

Dr. Chris Buresh, who also volunteered during Sunday’s dinner, emphasized the importance of these experiences as part of medical education.

"For me this is one of the most important things for them to learn. If you're going to be a good physician you got to know what's going on outside of your workspace. You have to understand that there's so many other things that go in to make people healthy then just picking the right medicines or doing the right procedure," said Buresh.

To learn more about Operation Nightwatch you can visit their website.