Elizabeth Todd is an extraordinary Nurse Practitioner (NP) who has been a part of the Orlando Health family for many years. She previously worked as an RN in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), then as an NP with our Pediatric General Surgeons, and most recently has pioneered the NP role in the NICU as a surgical care coordinator. She has transformed the interdisciplinary collaboration between the NICU and the Surgical Services Team which has directly improved patient care and patient experience. She has shown exemplary practice through the development of best practice pathways of patient care, such as the Pathway for Mandibular Distraction for NICU babies, which required collaboration between the NICU attending physicians and the Pediatric Craniofacial Surgical Team. An integral aspect of this pathway includes Elizabeth's respectful communication between nurses, respiratory therapy, Craniofacial and ENT surgeons, NICU physicians, social work, speech therapy, and the patient's family. She has enthusiastically taken on this task, which has greatly improved our patient care.
Elizabeth has also coordinated with other specialties, such as Pediatric Interventional Cardiologists. She has presented at the International PDA Symposium 2019 discussing "A Neonatal Patent Ductus Arteriosus Management Pathway" and subsequently was awarded the best abstract at the conference. Her knowledge and research have improved our patient quality outcomes directly and she is an incredible representation of what Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies embodies.
Elizabeth always has a smile on her face and she is compassionate with her patients and peers. She has been a monumental change in the NICU; she has positively impacted the NICU babies, their families, and providers helping take care of the patients.