On my way back to the station after a long shift with an extremely complex patient, we got a call for an unknown problem. Upon our arrival on scene, there were two RMPs (NYPD squad cars abbreviation for radio motor patrol) present already. When I entered the building two police officers were already in the lobby and informed me that the aided (a patient in the NYC 911 system) was an elderly male with dementia. Ok, I though to myself, if 911 was called, either there is some kind of acute issue that needs to be sorted out, or someone needs to be called to come and stay with him. Once I arrive in the apartment it is explained to me that due to circumstances that are beyond the scope of this post, the patient cannot be left alone due to his dementia, and the AID who would normally stay with him was not able to and there was no one else to take care of him. This becomes an extremely tricky situation as, although the patient himself called 911 looking for the police, I was put in a situation where he had to be transported to the hospital despite his initial refusal. There are very few circumstances where EMS can compel a patient to go to the hospital, as an adult, if they are not in police custody (also includes psyche cases such as suicidal patients), or don’t know their name, what time of day it is, where they are, and what happened to them, taking someone to the hospital against their will is not only morally wrong but is considered kidnapping. To that end, this patient was fully oriented and not in police custody, so I (myself) was not able to compel him to go to the hospital. At the same time, I could not leave this patient home alone due to his mental state, we needed to convince him to go, which he did not want. After spending over an hour and a half attempting to convince him I decided to request a supervisor respond to the scene to make the transport decision (ie taking the responsibility out of my hands and putting it in the supervisors). It was at this exact moment that the patient finally agreed to go to the hospital. I cancel the supervisor and begin transport procedures. I take the patient to the ER, finish up the paperwork with my partner and call it after my 9-hour shift turned into a 13.