Jackson Nurse Goes Above & Beyond Call of Duty to Help Patient Reunite with Family

On April 13, 80-year-old Roberto Santamarina Sr., was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital, soon after arriving to Miami International Airport from Costa Rica.

“Once I landed in Miami, I completely blacked out,” said Roberto Sr.  “I couldn’t remember much, but I mostly remembered wanting to be see my three kids.”

While in the care of Maritza Reyes Jaime , RN, on Ryder Trauma Center’s 4B, he would often talk to her about his kids and mention their names.  The two immediately established a strong bond.

“I knew he had a family in the United States, but he didn’t have any contact numbers for them,” said Reyes. “He kept asking me for help, and I promised to help him find his family.”

To fulfill her promise, Reyes went above and beyond the call of duty, spending hours scouring the Internet and Facebook for any nugget of information she could find using the few details she had of Santamarina’s life.

After two months of searching with no results, Reyes spent her own money to pull personal records off a website. It turned out to be a great investment.

Reyes was able to retrieve a phone number for a man in Las Vegas with the same name as her patient.

On June 29, Reyes dialed Roberto Santamarina Jr. hoping he had a connection to the patient she had grown so close with. The fateful call forever changed the lives of the Santamarina family.

“I couldn’t believe what was coming out from the end of the phone,” recalls Roberto Santamarina  Jr. “Maritza kept telling me my father was at the hospital and wanted to talk to me.”

Roberto Jr. immediately broke down in tears, as he and his siblings presumed their father had passed away five years ago, after losing touch with him.

Back in 1998, after retiring from the casino industry, the elder Santamarina moved from Las Vegas to Costa Rica to open a business. He kept in touch with his children, but in 2009 the phone calls stopped.

“We tried to track him down for years with no success,” said Roberto Jr. “About five years ago, we received a call from his sister in Cuba saying my dad had passed away.”

Learning that his father was indeed alive was one of the best days of his life.

On July 6, Roberto Jr. flew from Las Vegas to Miami, heading directly from the airport to Jackson Memorial for a tearful reunion.

After 18 years apart, father and son were together again.

“It’s been such an emotional rollercoaster,” said Roberto Jr. “I’m so grateful to Maritza for all she’s done for my dad and our family.”

Father and son have returned to Las Vegas, where Roberto Sr. has reunited with the rest of his family.

They say they will never forget the care and love Roberto Sr. received at Jackson Memorial – and will definitely keep in touch with Reyes.

“She’s like a daughter to me now,” Roberto Sr. said.

To read more of our Nothing Random About Our Kindness employee features celebrating Random Acts of Kindness Week, click here.