Erin Cavanagh, MBA-HCM, BSN, RN

Erin is a clinical coordinator in our emergency department. We had a 23-year-old patient with autism present to our emergency department. His cognitive abilities were that of a five-year-old. This patient had episodes of aggression and inadvertently, due to cognitive deficits, severely assaulted one of our technicians. This patient ended up staying 12 days in our emergency department due to difficulty finding placement. During his 12-day stay, Erin identified ways to engage this patient with storyboards and provided him with more choices. She advocated by calling the kitchen to inquire about getting this patient a menu with choices due to his long stay and history. She also identified and facilitated a specific ED technician who was interested in helping this patient and assigned him to this area for his whole shift, where he excelled in providing excellent care for this patient during his extended stay. Erin has been very involved in bettering the department this year, and it all comes back to excellent and quality care for patients. She is the perfect example of a nurse that truly advocates for their patients, especially the vulnerable patients.