Spirit of Excellence Award: Home Recovery Care Director of the Year
Each year, Spirit of Excellence Awards are presented by our parent company, Amedisys, to select employees who demonstrate exceptional caregiving support to the field and display Amedisys’ core values, which include service, passion, integrity, respect, innovation and talent.
Our 2023 Home Recovery Care Director of the Year Award was presented to Jaimie Johnson, BSN, RN, PCCN, the Home Recovery Care Director supporting our hospital at home program at Allegheny Health Network in Pennsylvania. Here are some of the wonderful things Jaimie’s colleagues said about her in their nominations in support of her:
“Jaimie communicates with our team and everyone she encounters openly and honestly. I feel well-informed of any changes and also feel heard in my ideas and concerns. Jaimie is a very transparent leader which makes her easy to relate to, and this is a huge asset as she interacts with our market partners.”
“Jaimie is a master of thinking outside the box to extend our services to as many patients as possible while maintaining the highest care and safety standards. She’s always willing to help us work through barriers and think of solutions to allow as many patients as possible to participate in our life-changing services.”
“As Jaimie has progressed through the roles in high-acuity care, she has a strong knowledge of each role from RCC to Lead to Director. Jaime freely shares her experiences and expertise in a manner that allows others to feel heard and supported. Jaimie is always willing to step in to fill vacancies and support the staff. Jaimie is an example of what we strive for our Clinical Directors to achieve.”
“Jaimie embodies all of the SPIRIT values, especially service. She is constantly striving to make our market successful, help as many patients as possible, and support her team at every turn. It is an absolute pleasure to work for someone that always has her employees’ best interests at heart.”
We are proud to spotlight Jaimie’s achievements in this role, and we asked her to share a little more about herself and her day-to-day work as a Director of Home Recovery Care.
What do you do at Contessa, and why did you choose this job?
I chose my initial Recovery Care Coordinator (RCC) position because I was interested in this new way of providing care to patients and was excited to try something new, but it has really become so much more. I chose to pursue my current position as Director because I truly believe that home is the best place for our patients to heal, because I love the problem-solving aspect of this role, and because I have a fantastic team I love working with each day.
In this role, I support my team of market RCCs clinically and encourage them to identify solutions to barriers they encounter, as well as ideas for growth within the market, that will ultimately lead to our ability to care for even more patients at home. I am always happy to jump in to help with an admission, or to make changes to our workflow based on their suggestions. I ensure that we maintain a culture that values both quality care for our patients, but also a positive work environment and great work-life balance for our team. I also act as the expert on the Home Recovery Care programs and general point of contact for our Allegheny Health Network (AHN) partners, taking an active role in the growth and expansion of our market.
What’s unique about this role and what is special about Contessa?
So often in healthcare, we see many things that we know could be done better both for our patients and for our nurses, but in traditional healthcare settings it is an incredibly long and difficult process to change the things we know could be done differently. That is why Contessa is so special; in this role, it is not only possible, but encouraged, to identify things that could be done better, to suggest solutions, and to try new ideas. Because this is the culture we’ve created here, patients are happier and are receiving higher quality care, and our team of nurses is experiencing far better job satisfaction.
Tell us about you! What is your educational and job background?
I moved to Pittsburgh from Colorado to attend the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Upon graduation, I accepted my first nursing job as a floor nurse on a busy progressive care unit at one of the AHN hospitals. After gaining a few years of experience, I worked briefly in the AHN Neuroscience Institute before accepting a role as a Heart Failure Navigator. In my Navigator role, I saw patients at several of the AHN hospitals to provide education about congestive heart failure (CHF) and to help prevent readmission to the hospitals. I worked closely with the heart failure team for a couple of years before the Recovery Care Coordinator position in the new AHN market sparked my interest, and I found a job I truly loved. I was ultimately promoted to Lead RCC and accepted the Director position a couple of years later in December of 2022.
Outside of work, what are your favorite things to do?
Outside of work, I love to spend time with my husband finding new restaurants to try and watching our favorite shows, playing games and spending time with my two wonderful stepsons and our family and friends, and going for walks with our two sweet rescue pitties.
Thanks, Jaimie, for sharing your talents and passion for caregiving with your patients, their families and the Contessa team! We are grateful for the care and attention you and other Home Recovery Care Directors like you contribute to advancing healthcare at home.