Austin Emergency Nurses Association

Rick Gastelum Memorial Scholarship Fund

The Rick Gastelum Memorial Scholarship Fund has been set up to honor one of our own.  While I never knew Rick personally, he has made an impact on the lives of those around him as a person and as an ER nurse at Brackenridge Hospital.  The Austin Emergency Nurses Association has developed the Gastelum Scholarship Fund to honor Rick and promote the education of Emergency Nurses.  Rick was a supporter of the AENA and encouraged nurses to become involved in their association.  Once the news spread of Ricks death and the idea of a scholarship fund in his memory was started, I began receiving email as fast as the net would allow.  From reading the things I received by email I am truly saddened that I did not know Rick.  Brackenridge has truly experienced a loss.  At the original suggestion of Curtis Townsend (original donor and AENA board member - http://www.austinena.net/CSS/Townsend_Curtis9569-212.jpg) I began putting together this section in honor of Rick. The scholarship funding will be available to all central Texas ER nurses.  Award of the scholarship will be determined by the AENA Board and Committee Chairs. If you would like to donate the the Rick Gastelum Memorial Scholarship Fund, you may do so by giving your donation to any Austin ENA Board Member (http://www.austinena.net/theboard2007.htm) or mail to: (make checks payable to - Austin Emergency Nurses Association)

Carl King, RN

AENA Informatics and News Committee Chair

c/o 15405 Interlachen Drive

Austin, Texas 78717-3869

"...They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint..."     Isaiah 40:31

Rick was a friend,...Rick was a nurse,...Rick was an ER nurse. 

Austin American Statesman

July 13, 2007

Beloved Brackenridge ER Nurse Dies

Rick Gastelum, 1944-2007

By Toni Inglis, editor

Editor’s Note: This article contains content from a July 10 Austin American-Statesman article about Rick, his July 13 Statesman obituary and a posthumous letter to Rick from a fellow ER nurse and friend, Greg Lloyd.

Longtime Brackenridge Emergency Department charge RN Rick Gastelum, 62, died unexpectedly July 7. Hundreds of people attended his memorial service at which STAR Flight did a fly-by.

                Gastelum was drafted into the military and trained as an Army medical corpsman during the Vietnam War. There, he found an interest in medicine that would form his lifelong career in nursing. He had worked in the Brackenridge ED since 1980, beginning his career as a tech, then as graduate nurse in 1983 and finally as manager of the department.

                In addition to his passion for caring, Gastelum was an incredibly accomplished athlete who loved long-distance running. He completed more than seven 100-mile runs during his career. In 2003, at the age of 58, he received The Texas Ultra Round-Up Award for the most ultra runs completed in a calendar year. Brackenridge ED Clinical Manager Carmen Pérez, RN, said, “Rick ran 40 miles a week and flew to other cities to participate in ultra runs several times a year without missing a day of work. These runs were the source of his spiritual and physical energy.”

                He ran almost every day, often on the Town Lake hike-and-bike trail. Running helped him relieve stress after eight- or 12-hour shifts, he told the Austin American-Statesman in 1998. “Running gives you an opportunity to reflect and problem-solve,” he said. “It's my time to plan, to make decisions or just to ruminate.”

                The rest of his time was devoted to helping others, his colleagues said. Gastelum trained hundreds of nurses and participated in the care of thousands of Central Texans.

                SNW/ED RN Greg Lloyd was one of the nurses who modeled Gastelum. “When I came to work at Brackenridge ER in 1980 as a wide-eyed EMT, Rick was my first teacher. He took me under his wing. He reserved judgment as to whether I had the right stuff to make the elite ER team. He showed me how to keep moving and that I didn't have time to stop and chat with patients, although I needn’t be rude.  One task to another, doing things most people wouldn't have had the stomach for, but they were things that had to be done; he did them all quickly, efficiently and professionally. He seemed to know what everything was, where everything was and how everything was done. All the staff — surgeons, cardiologists, nurses — everyone knew if they wanted the right answer or the job done right, they had only to ask Rick.”

                Pérez said Gastelum was so committed to his job that he arrived at the Emergency Room 15 minutes before his shift began and often worked late, sometimes hours, to help others. Emergency Room physician Dr. Pat Crocker said, “The entire (hospital) staff is very saddened. Rick was really a remarkable person, a highly skilled emergency nurse, and he remained a kindhearted individual despite the stress and trials of working in a trauma center. He'll be very much missed here.”