The UPMC ENABLED employee resource group partnered with other UPMC groups to participate in Disability Mentoring Day at UPMC Mercy on October 18th.
ENABLED, which stands for “Empowering Abilities and Leveraging Differences,” serves UPMC workers who have differing abilities to create a global, empowered culture of inclusivity that welcomes all employees without bias. ENABLED also works to attract and retain people with differing abilities and provides accommodations to staff and candidates for employment with differing abilities to enable them to perform the essential functions of their jobs.
Brett M. Fadgen, MSN, CFRN, CRNA, is a member of UPMC ENABLED and has worked for many years to raise awareness of the impact of unconscious bias on people with disabilities. Brett is a nurse anesthetist who was born with a congenital defect and uses a prosthetic arm. To our knowledge, Brett is the only person in the world with this type of disability who provides anesthesia at the CRNA level. He has devised innovative adaptive techniques and devices used to work in the operating room and demonstrated their success for clinicians. He’s also worked closely to refine and test his skills with the Winter Institute for Simulation, Education and Research (WISER), which trains healthcare simulation professionals from around the world.
Twelve students from the Allegheny Intermediate Unit Pathfinder School, which serves 5 to 21-year-old special education students throughout Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Greene, and Washington counties, participated in Disability Mentoring Day. The students learned how to perform first aid, apply bandages, listen to lung sounds, and how to take a pulse using SimBaby. They also watched demonstrations of adaptive devices Brett uses in the OR and learned about project search and employment opportunities UPMC has to offer.