Kenneth Kavanaugh

His childhood dream was to become a paramedic, and he began living this dream after receiving his paramedic certification in 1992. He worked in the very busy emergency medical system in Las Vegas for over ten years, and then decided to broaden his horizons by attending nursing school. His first nursing job after graduation brought him to Reno, Nevada where he worked in the trauma intensive care unit for eight years. Ken also worked part time in the emergency department at a local northern Nevada hospital. He was promoted as the house supervisor for the largest hospital in Reno, and also served a brief detail as the emergency department supervisor.

Ken joined Reno VA team after seeing an advertisement on USAJOBS for the nursing supervisor position, and I began working for VA in 2013. Since that time he has served in several roles including manager of the Community Living Center (CLC), manager of the Medical/Surgical Unit, and manager of the Emergency Department. These positions prepared Ken well for his next role as the Acute Care Nursing Service Chief. Currently, Ken is serving as the Acting Deputy Associate Director of Patient Care Services and Deputy Nurse Executive. His hobbies include flying, woodworking, hunting, fishing, and camping. Ken and his wife enjoy the outdoors and try to get back to nature at every opportunity.