To the editor:

There was a sad incident recently on our block. An elderly resident, who had been released from Alexandria Hospital two days before, called for an ambulance again. Her husband, whom the neighbors on the block had been caring for, would have been left alone. He is also in poor health. In addition, there were two animals in the house that needed to be fed and walked.

A call was made to Adult Protective Services describing their plight. An ambulance arrived and the medics went into the house to assess the situation and they agreed that the wife should be transported to the hospital and that the husband could not be left alone.

The medic made a call to Community and Human Services and a fire captain working for the agency that day came to take command and make decisions. She was efficient, decisive and caring. She called the animal shelter, which quickly sent an employee with two animal carriers to round up the dog and cat. They will be boarded at a shelter until a later time. Three Alexandria policemen were also present in case they were needed.

A second ambulance arrived to take the husband to the hospital and the fire captain went ahead to make sure that the couple did not get separated at the hospital. Husband and wife were placed in the same room.

Many of the neighbors, myself included, witnessed the goings-on and I was really impressed and gratified to see how well the city can respond to this kind of emergency. I know that the city receives much grumbling and many complaints. I just want to be sure that city workers also receive praise for the work they do.

-Miriam Olinger, Alexandria