A pivotal moment in Olivia Castellano’s nursing career came while she was working on a telemetry unit. In 2018, she was floated to the Emergency Department during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting.

“I was overwhelmed by the chaos but in awe of how the ED team, along with those of us from the floors, came together to triage, care for and support the patients,” she said. Inspired by that day, she applied to transfer to the ED a month later and hasn’t looked back.

Today, Castellano is a registered nurse specializing in trauma and critical care, managing Level 1 and 2 trauma patients as well as stroke and STEMI cases.

“My daily motivation comes from seeing patients improve, even a little, before moving upstairs,” she said.

A native of Margate, Florida, she earned her associate’s degree from Broward College and her bachelor’s from the University of West Florida.