Tiara McCoy, a pre-op nurse at Piedmont Northside Hospital in Macon, has been celebrated as a hero for her crucial role in saving a human trafficking victim.
According to Nurse.org, McCoy was recently honored with the hospital’s prestigious President’s Award for her bravery and vigilance. This recognition, one of the highest in the system, included a $5,000 award. Out of thousands of nominations across all Piedmont hospitals, McCoy was chosen by Piedmont’s President and CEO, Kevin Brown, for demonstrating quick compassion, sharp thinking, and an unwavering commitment to patient care.
“We have so many selfless employees who show tremendous regard for others, whether they are in a patient setting or not,” Brown said. “Tiara and Emilee stand out as shining examples of what it means to create a truly patient-centered culture.”
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It began last year when McCoy demonstrated quick thinking and compassion when a young girl came in for surgery accompanied by an older man. Recognizing warning signs, McCoy’s intervention resulted in the patient being safely reunited with her family and the accompanying man’s arrest, as reported by 5 On Your Side.
“I am a strong advocate for standing up and speaking up for what you believe in, so I didn’t agree with what was going on with her, so I spoke up about it,” McCoy told 5 On Your Side.
The seven-year veteran nurse immediately noticed red flags: the young patient arrived with a much older man, displayed anger, and the man insisted on staying with her during pre-surgical preparation.
Using her understanding gained from people she knew who had been trafficked, McCoy acted. While preparing the patient for surgery in private, she included psychological screening questions about physical and sexual abuse.
“She held back a little. I guess maybe she was scared, but I did assure her that it was a safe place,” McCoy said.
After the girl confessed to McCoy that she was a trafficking victim, the nurse acted immediately.
McCoy first alerted her supervisor and then provided the patient with her personal phone so she could contact family and friends. The nurse further intervened when the man tried to follow the patient into the pre-op area.
“He started walking back with her. She signaled me and asked if he had to come back and I told her absolutely not and I told him to wait,” McCoy said.
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The trafficking victim, a patient she helped save, has since been reunited with her family in a U.S. territory, while the man who was with her has been arrested.
McCoy stated that she hopes her actions will encourage others to speak up if they observe something amiss.
She also emphasized this point by saying, “If you see something, say something,” and expressed her desire to assist even more people in the future.
Meanwhile, anti-trafficking advocate Clarice Carolyn Herring Jones, who began fighting sex trafficking in 2018 after discovering a family member was a victim, stresses the need to recognize warning signs.
She points out that indicators can include paranoia, specific body language, certain branding tattoos, and distress signals, such as a hand gesture where four fingers are raised and the thumb is tucked.
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