Staff Spotlight

Staff Member: Ida Cavanaugh, Position: Licensed Practical Nurse

By Clare Jensen

For Puyallup Tribal News
cjensen@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: June 12, 2008

Ida Cavanaugh has had a long, fulfilling life in the health field. She has worked for 39 years as a licensed practical nurse (LPN), the majority of that time being spent at the Puyallup Tribal Health Authority (PTHA).

And even at 65 years old, she doesn’t see herself quitting—ever.

“I never thought about retirement,” she said.

She isn’t alone in that school of thought, either. Her three siblings, ranging in ages from 69 to 78, are still working hard each day in the health care field as well.

Ida Cavanaugh works primarily with Dr. Gail Fulton overseeing gynecological procedures. The team has worked together for the past five years and have developed quite a bond in that time.

The two work so much hand in hand, that if Gail Fulton takes a vacation, Ida Cavanaugh figures she might as well take that time off too.

Ida Cavanaugh is originally from North Dakota, and is a member of the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe. She first came to the Northwest at the request of her sister-in-law Alice, whom she is still very close with today.

Ida Cavanaugh started her career in nursing right out of high school as a nurse’s assistant.

“I always wanted to be a nurse,” she said. “I always wanted to help people—I’m lucky that I was able to work with Native people.”

She enjoys her job at the PTHA so much, that even when she tried to move back home to North Dakota, she bounced right back to the clinic and picked up where she left off.

“I’ve been here so long, it feels like family,” she said.

Ida Cavanaugh has quite the family of her own as well.

She has five children, 18 grandchildren and one great-grandchild who all live nearby.

And sometimes her work family and biological family can be intermixed.

Ida Cavanaugh said her grandchildren all visit the pediatric department at PTHA, so when they come in for appointments, they also get to visit grandma.

Ida Cavanaugh said one of the things she likes most about her job is the people she gets to see on a daily basis, especially the elders.

“Some [patients] come back and you can see that they’re better. I think they really appreciate the work that we do.”

She noted that one of the biggest challenges she faces at the clinic is the over population of patients needing treatment. She said knowing the PTHA is only able to serve a portion of the people who need it can be frustrating. “We can be their [the patients] sole means of support.”

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