Acute and Critical Care Occupational Therapy Mentors and Staff

Heather Henderson graduated from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy (OT). The first five years of her career were spent in both inpatient and outpatient settings at Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation before joining the Occupational Therapy Department at Erlanger in 2009. Here she discovered that the ever-changing and fast-paced academic acute care environment was her niche.

Heather has a passion for learning and mentoring others. In addition to precepting many of the OTs currently on staff, she was a fieldwork educator for multiple students while a staff therapist and OT Team Lead. She now serves as the OT manager and enjoys mentoring her peers.

In her leadership position, she has played a role in growing the Erlanger OT department from three to more than twenty staff members. She is an Epic superuser and has enjoyed optimizing the department's EMR documentation since 2017.

Her special interests in the acute care setting include trauma, orthopedics, neurodegenerative conditions, and custom orthotic fabrication. She has functioned as the occupational therapist within the Erlanger Multidisciplinary ALS Clinic since its inception in 2015 and has also assisted with coverage of the Erlanger Huntington's Disease Multidisciplinary Clinic.

In her free time, Heather enjoys being active in her church, volunteering, spending time with her family, working puzzles, and caring for orchids.

Dr. Sara Lum is an assistant professor and UTC Occupational Therapy Coordinator of Fellowship Education in the Occupational Therapy Department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist through the Brain Injury Association of America and a Certified Stroke Rehabilitation Specialist from Neurorecovery Unlimited.

Dr. Lum brings extensive clinical experience working with adults following various medical challenges including cardiopulmonary, oncologic, and neurological events across acute care and inpatient rehabilitation settings. Her most notable clinical experience was serving as a full-time Clinical Senior Occupational Therapist at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, Illinois.

Her clinical work has primarily focused on supporting adults who have experienced acquired brain injuries with activities of daily living and regaining functional independence. Her community collaborations with clinical partners have focused on implementing evidence-based practice for traumatic brain injury care, collaborating with clinical teams for the adoption of outcome measures, and mentoring novice practitioners in advanced practice areas.

Dr. Lum’s teaching, leadership, and research agenda center on clinical skill development, clinical reasoning for novice clinicians, and supporting the psychosocial needs of individuals through mindfulness. She teaches across the UTC OTD curriculum with a focus on adult rehabilitation, adult neurorehabilitation, advanced clinical practices, and the application of clinical screening and outcome measures.

As UTC Occupational Therapy Coordinator of Fellowship Education, she collaborates with clinical partners to support professional development in acute and critical care settings through the development of curriculum for advanced occupational therapy clinical practice.

Outside of her academic role, Dr. Lum continues to engage in clinical practice by working part-time at a local inpatient rehabilitation hospital. She also enjoys spending time with her husband and two young children, baking, and taking walks.

Carolyn Dawson graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. in 2008, and worked in cardiac rehab as an exercise physiologist before entering post-professional education. She continued her education at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tenn., earning a Masters in Occupational Therapy in 2011. During her masters program, she served as the vice president of the Chattanooga cohort and coordinated various events advocating for the profession.

Following a clinical rotation at Erlanger, Carolyn started as a PRN OT in 2011 while working fulltime in the skilled nursing setting. She quickly discovered her passion for the acute care environment and transitioned to full-time work in 2013. While working in a wide variety of areas in the hospital, she often participated in weekly multi-disciplinary rounding with the trauma team and found herself with primary involvement in the trauma/orthopedic population.

In 2023, she transitioned to Occupational Therapy Team Lead, focusing on continuous improvement initiatives within the Erlanger OT department.

Outside of work, Carolyn enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and two kids.

Audrey Byland received her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Samford University in 2014 and earned her Doctor of Occupational Therapy at Belmont University in 2017. While at Belmont, she completed a level II acute care fieldwork rotation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. After graduation, Audrey began her acute care career in ortho/trauma and general medicine/surgery at Flagstaff Medical Center in Flagstaff, Ariz., the only level I trauma center covering a region of more than 50,000 square miles.

Over her 7.5 years in Flagstaff, she became an experienced clinician and developed an affinity for critical care, most often covering the medical, surgical trauma, and cardiovascular intensive care units, and was one of only a few OTs to provide individual and group therapy in the adult and adolescent behavioral health units. In addition, she frequently mentored new colleagues and students, and coordinated fieldwork placement for the latter as the site coordinator for clinical education.

In 2025, Audrey returned to her home state of Tennessee and began her career at Erlanger, where she supports all units, but is most frequently working in the medical intensive care unit.

In her leisure time she enjoys traveling and all things outdoors—hiking, trail running, backpacking, skiing, and mountaineering.

Kathleen Delbrueck graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a B.S. in Exercise Science in 2017 and Occupational Therapy Doctorate in 2020. While in OT school, she completed an experiential internship at Erlanger Behavioral Health Hospital, where she created educational staff resources regarding group facilitation, home safety, and dementia-related education resources for caregivers of geriatric psych patients.

Kathleen’s acute care career at Erlanger began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has worked in all ICUs and floors, has experience working in the inpatient rehabilitation setting, and enjoys the variety of patient populations present in acute care.

She has mentored several students throughout her tenure at Erlanger as a fieldwork clinical instructor and has served on committees within the rehab department to better clinician experience and patient care.

In her free time, Kathleen enjoys traveling, trying new restaurants, and spending time outdoors with her husband.

Teresa Laing grew up in the Northeast but headed south for college, where she received her A.S. degrees in Pre-Occupational Therapy and in Administrative Management from Southern Adventist University in 2000. Teresa completed her Master of Occupational Therapy degree from Loma Linda University in 2003, graduating summa cum laude.

Over the years, Teresa has worked in a variety of settings in Oklahoma, Kansas, and New Jersey, including pediatrics, home health, acute care, inpatient rehab, and skilled nursing. She was excited for the opportunity to return to Tennessee in 2012, and has worked at Erlanger since then, initially on a PRN basis and, more recently, as a full-time OT.

She strongly believes in developing the therapist-patient relationship, often using humor to help overcome barriers and establish rapport with her patients. With nearly 25 years of experience, Teresa continues to be excited about OT. She appreciates opportunities to mentor students and new grads and has given talks to pre-Allied Health Professions students at Southern Adventist University.

In her free time, Teresa enjoys spending time with her husband and kids, reading, and crafting.

Betsy Hill graduated from the University of Tennessee-Memphis with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy in 2001. She worked as a tech for Siskin and HealthSouth while obtaining prerequisite courses for the OT program and worked in the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) for 14 years after OT school graduation.

In 2016, Betsy left the SNF setting to pursue a career in home health for the next five years. Although she enjoyed the home health setting, a move to Florida landed her in a subacute rehab facility where she worked for 3 years.

In 2024, Betsy moved back to her hometown of Chattanooga and began working for Erlanger. Since being in acute care at Erlanger, Betsy has enjoyed working with a variety of patient diagnoses and has developed a love for the cardiopulmonary patients.

Betsy is married and has two children. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and dogs, kayaking, fishing, and going to all types of sporting events.

Brooke Holland earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Sociology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2011, later completing her Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2017 as part of the program's inaugural OTD cohort. Brooke’s passion for medication management, neurological population, and the acute care setting is attributed to her seven years of experience as a pharmacy technician, her clinical rotation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and her 16-week Capstone Experience at Siskin Hospital focused on advanced clinical practice skills with functional cognition.

Brooke began her career at Erlanger in 2017, where she advanced her skills and fascination with the neurological population by serving as the primary occupational therapist in the Neuro ICU, neuro step-down unit, and occupational therapy representative in multidisciplinary rounds for Erlanger’s comprehensive stroke center certification. She is a dedicated occupational therapist committed to advocating for the occupational therapy profession, advancing clinical excellence, and supporting the professional growth of emerging clinicians.

Brooke served as clinical instructor to seven students prior to being promoted to Site Coordinator for Clinical Education in 2024. As SCCE, she organizes staff clinical education opportunities, serves as a representative for occupational/physical therapy student advisory boards to local institutions, and oversees the coordination and development of clinical education experiences for occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech language pathology clinical and observational students.

Outside of work, Brooke enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, watching plants grow, and doing any game/activity that could be considered competitive.

Megan Haaga graduated from Mississippi State University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science with an emphasis in Clinical Exercise Physiology. She completed her Master of Occupational Therapy at Tennessee State University in 2010. She then moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., where she started her career in geriatrics at a skilled nursing facility.

Megan then found her passion for adult acute care when she joined the Occupational Therapy department at Erlanger in the winter of 2014 and has since developed an interest in all things related to trauma, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and complex orthopedic injuries. Megan enjoys the ever-changing environment of an academic teaching hospital and appreciates the value of working closely with the medical team to ensure best practice.

Since coming to Erlanger, Megan has been involved in various multi-disciplinary rounds, mentoring new therapists and providing outpatient occupational therapy support for the Erlanger Huntington’s Disease Clinic, which is an HDSA Center of Excellence. Megan completed her Certified Stroke Rehabilitation Specialist (CSRS) certification in 2022.

In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband, teaching her toddler son how to perform his ADLs, paddle boarding, hiking, reading, Mahjong, dabbling in watercolor painting and spending time with extended family.

Dr. Jessica Hackathorne received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Eastern Michigan University, and her PhD from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She has been practicing as an occupational therapist for more 20 years. primarily in adult neuro settings including outpatient, inpatient rehab, and acute care.

Dr. Hackathorne is the program director in the UTC Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program. Her teaching courseload includes Human Gross Anatomy, Conceptual Framework in Occupational Therapy, Neuroscience, Models of Practice - Neuro, and Models of Practice - Mental Health. Her research has been focused in three main areas: technology use; community occupational engagement; and student development.

From a clinical perspective, Dr. Hackathorne specializes in working with individuals with SCI or CVA and continues to work regularly in an inpatient rehabilitation hospital.

She enjoys volunteering in the community and is active in a choice food pantry and packing food bags for the unhoused, as well as supporting programs at her children's school. She is married with two teenage boys.

Dr. Erin Pemberton Melhorn is an associate professor and doctoral Capstone coordinator in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She is a board-certified gerontology specialist through the American Occupational Therapy Association and brings extensive clinical experience working with older adults across acute care, rehabilitation, and community-based settings. Her clinical work has focused on fall prevention, functional independence, and supporting aging in place for individuals with complex health needs.

Dr. Melhorn’s teaching, leadership, and research agenda center on preparing practice-ready clinicians while advancing community-engaged, data-driven approaches to care. She teaches across the curriculum with a focus on geriatrics, assistive technology, professional practice, group interventions, and doctoral capstone development. Her teaching emphasizes clinical reasoning, hands-on application, and preparing students to navigate real-world challenges with confidence. As Capstone Coordinator, she leads students through the development of individualized, high-impact projects that integrate research, leadership, and community engagement.

She is actively involved in interprofessional education and serves with the MobileMOC interprofessional mobile health unit, working alongside healthcare and community partners to expand access to services and address health disparities. Her work emphasizes building sustainable partnerships across healthcare systems, public health, and community organizations, with a focus on improving outcomes for older adults in underserved and rural populations. She is particularly committed to translating evidence into practice and developing innovative models that integrate student learning with meaningful community impact.

Outside of her academic role, Dr. Melhorn enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters and staying engaged in the Chattanooga community.