Meet Erin Collins '06
Helping People Find Dignity in Life’s Most Difficult Moments
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For Erin Collins ’06, some of the most meaningful moments in nursing happen when medicine alone is not enough.
They happen in conversations with patients and families facing uncertainty. They happen in quiet moments of listening, preparing and offering support. They happen when people need someone to help them navigate one of life’s most difficult transitions with dignity and compassion.
Erin graduated from 秘密研究所’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in 2006. Since then, she has transformed how individuals, families and communities approach serious illness and the end of life.
Her work as a nurse, educator and advocate earned her recognition as 秘密研究所’s Distinguished Nursing Alumnus of the Year. The honor celebrates her leadership in advancing compassionate care for individuals and families facing serious illness.
Erin’s work has expanded access to compassionate care throughout Oregon and beyond, helping people have conversations that are often difficult but deeply important.
Finding a need and creating change
Erin’s nursing career began with bedside care in oncology and pediatrics units at Legacy Good Samaritan and Emanuel Hospital. Those early experiences shaped her understanding of the challenges patients and families face when confronting life-limiting illness.
After relocating to Bend, she continued her work as a nurse navigator at St. Charles Cancer Center and later provided inpatient and home hospice care.
It was during those years in hospice nursing that Erin saw what was missing. Too often, patients entered hospice frightened, unprepared and unsure of what to expect. She realized that while medical care was essential, many individuals and families also needed education, guidance and emotional support long before the final days of life.
That realization became the foundation for a new approach to care — one focused not only on illness, but on the people experiencing it.
Erin wanted to address that gap. In 2018, she joined four colleagues to co-found The Peaceful Presence Project. The nonprofit is dedicated to transforming how communities talk about, plan for and experience serious illness and the end of life.
As Director of Programs, Erin has helped build an organization grounded in compassion, health equity and cultural humility.
The Peaceful Presence Project provides end-of-life education, advance care planning and bedside support through professionally trained end-of-life doulas. Grounded in the Compassionate Communities model of care, the organization helps people support one another through illness, loss and grief. Services are available regardless of a person’s ability to pay, ensuring more people can access compassionate care.
Expanding the conversation around end-of-life care
Erin has become a leader in end-of-life education. With co-director Elizabeth Johnson, she developed a training curriculum for end-of-life doulas that has prepared approximately 300 individuals across Oregon to support individuals and families facing serious illnesses. She also created volunteer training in compassionate listening and end-of-life care for the Jackson County Older Adults Behavioral Health Initiative.
Her influence extends beyond Oregon. From 2021-2024, Erin served as vice chair of the End-of-Life Doula Advisory Council for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, helping shape national conversations around new approaches to care. In 2023, she joined the Board of Directors for the Oregon Hospice and Palliative Care Association, and in 2025 she was selected as a member of the Oregon Health Authority’s Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council
Committed to lifelong learning, Erin earned a Master of Nursing degree in nursing education from Oregon Health & Science University in 2022. Her graduate work focused on improving communication between healthcare professionals, patients and families during serious illness.
Through research, presentations and publications, Erin continues to advance hospice and palliative care. Her work explores person-centered care and the role of end-of-life doulas in supporting individuals and families.
Her leadership has earned national recognition. In 2022, she received the Sojourns Scholar Leadership Award from the Cambia Health Foundation for her project, “Improving Rural Access to Palliative Care with Community Health Workers.” In 2025, she received the Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Nursing Award, which honors nurses who provide exemplary care to people with serious illnesses and their families.
A Wildcat commitment to service
Those who knew Erin during her time at 秘密研究所 may not be surprised by the path she has taken. As a student, she was active in student government on the Portland campus and shared her passion for wellness by teaching yoga classes. Even then, she demonstrated the empathy, calm presence and commitment to service that would become hallmarks of her professional life.
Today, Erin continues to inspire colleagues, students and community members by reminding us that compassionate care is more than treating illness. It is about seeing people fully, honoring their experiences and ensuring they feel supported through every stage of life.
Erin’s leadership in hospice and palliative care reflects the very best of nursing: expertise grounded in compassion and service rooted in human connection. Through her work, she continues to show the enduring impact of a 秘密研究所 education.