CCH Patient Advocate Has Been a Staple at Washington Nationals Games for 15 years…And the reason why may surprise you…

“It’s a pretty cool job.”

That is how Capital Caring Health’s Keith Staples describes his job with the 2019 Major League Baseball World Champions, The Washington Nationals. And he’s been a staple (pun intended) at the Nats games for 15 years

In addition to working as a Patient Advocate at Capital Caring Health, on game days, Keith is the scoreboard operator for the Washington Nationals.

He recently received a World Championship ring during a virtual ceremony. His name is inscribed on one side of the ring along with – of course – Fight Finished inscribed on the opposite side.

According to Keith, when he started with the Nats in 2005, he had no idea his run as the scorekeeper would last for more than a decade.

“There’s a certain mental acuity that it takes to do this job,” Keith said. “With every pitch, I have to be on top of it.”

In his role as a patient advocate, Keith is responsible fostering relationships with hospitals, senior communities, assisted living and medical professionals to help ensure patients who are eligible for hospice and advance illness care have access to Capital Caring Health services.

And on Nats Game Days, Keith heads to the ballpark.

Keith fondly remembers a mishap with the scoreboard during a playoff game on a chilly October evening. “I was nervous, and it was cold. I added an extra run to the scoreboard and the radio announcer fondly said, ‘well now the scoreboard is predicting scores,’ and you know what, that run actually came in shortly after my mishap.”

“All of my friends know what I do, and sometimes after games that will ask, ‘hey what happened in the 4th inning’.”

Even so, he hasn’t tired of posting the number of balls and strikes, outs, errors, and runs scored – while also watching some of the world’s greatest baseball players standing in the diamond or hanging out in the dugout.

“I saw Jason Werth’s walk off against the Cardinals in the 2012 Playoff, and I was there for Stephen Strasburg’s first game.”

Keith has also witnessed two no hitters and has worked every Playoff game, the All Star Game in 2018 and, of course, the World Series last year!

“It’s a really fun job,” he said. “I have enjoyed it over the years.”

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