Caitlyn is a clinical coordinator in the emergency department downtown. She often serves as the team lead, and I look forward to any shift in which she is in charge. On this day, I was the resource in the trauma bay and was busy dealing with several situations. Per usual, Caitlyn was assisting with the chaos, and without question, took it upon herself to treat a patient who came in with her minor son, who was clearly not being taken care of. The patient and son were also homeless. 

She instantly jumped into action, providing the child with somewhere to lay his head, food to eat, and reporting it to the proper authorities. When the patient was ready for discharged, the plan was to send them both back to the hotel they had allegedly been staying in, despite the patient not being in any condition to care for her child. 

Caitlyn stayed two hours after her shift to make sure that this child was not being put back in an unfortunate situation where he would be faced with the same challenges in 28° weather. She secured a place for him in the CHOR hospital with diligent follow up with child protective services. It is evident each day that I work beside her that she shows up as not only a leader and a nurse, but as a mother and an overall kind human. 

This is only one example of the exceptional things I have seen her do as a leader in the emergency department.