Employee Spotlight: Holly Warren, Recovery Care Coordinator
Meet Holly, a Recovery Care Coordinator (RCC) in the Contessa Virtual Care Unit (VCU), which supports multiple partner health systems with virtual care for their Recovery Care at Home programs. We asked Holly to share some details about herself and her role here at Contessa, and we hope you enjoy learning more just as much as we did!
All about me
Holly originally joined Contessa’s parent company, Amedisys, as a Hospice Case Manager before taking her role in the VCU. She has a bachelor’s degree in both nursing and public health from Old Dominion University, and before working for Amedisys, began her nursing career as an oncology nurse at Sentara Obici Hospital in Virginia.
Holly’s role as a VCU RCC is vital to our mission of making the healing experience enjoyable for those receiving care. She shares, “As an RCC, I work to coordinate care of acute patients, or patients that are still hospitalized at home. This includes making sure that they have any medications or infusions they need in the home, setting up a courier to the patient so the family or patient does not have to go anywhere, paying attention to any pending labs or test results, setting up any ordered diagnostics and making sure the doctor receives those results.”
These duties help ensure hospital-at-home patients receive all the services they need to recover in the comfort of their own homes. Because Recovery Care at Home also addresses social determinants of health and patient education needs, Holly explains, “I also ensure the family has adequate support in the home and set up any aide services they may need in addition to assessing the need for social work. When it is time for a patient to discharge, I ensure they are comfortable with their understanding of the program and set up any referrals they may have. I do this simultaneously for numerous markets throughout our company.”
We asked her what she’s most proud of about her time at Contessa so far, and Holly says, “I think that if I had to narrow it down to one thing, it would be the ability to not only learn, but also flexibly grow with all the changes within Contessa and successfully work numerous markets during these changes. I was fortunate to come to Contessa at a time of growth and have successfully grown with these markets and obtained multiple nursing licenses in the process.”
Work-life balance: what’s life like outside of work?
When she’s not at work, you can find Holly reading, working out at Burn Bootcamp and making sourdough. “I love to escape into a great book,” she says. “A magical, make-believe world that is so far from reality that it feels like I am dreaming!” She says that baking bread is also a great escape— “It sounds silly, but it is so relaxing and delicious. And lastly, I have always loved the exhaustion I feel after a great workout (especially since I must balance out all the bread I eat)!”
We also asked her to share the three things she can’t live without: “My kindle, my favorite pair of leggings and dry shampoo!”
What I love about Contessa
Holly remembers one of first things that attracted her to her role at Contessa was how advanced it was for nursing and the opportunity it provided to take care of patients from home. “How amazing is that?” she says. “If only Florence Nightingale could see nursing now.”
She also shares, “Working for Contessa feels like working with family. I have amazing coworkers that are always happy to help when needed. I always joke that everyone gets along so well because everything is virtual. I feel so lucky to have such diversity in my work environment, I get to meet people from all over the United States and chat with them daily.”
Holly continues, “There are so many different and fresh ideas from my coworkers. Whenever there is a dilemma, my coworkers always jump in and assist in trouble shooting. In addition, I do not ever feel stressed about coming to work and facing an overwhelming caseload because my team is reliable and always at work. We all work together so well, and everyone is always quick to help a team member.”
Thank you, Holly, for being such a great example of our values in action, and for sharing your story with us!