Position Spotlight: Virtual Care Unit Manager
Christina lives in a small west Texas town not far from where she grew up. She attended Cisco College after high school and earned her licensed vocational nurse (LVN) title. After working as an LVN in critical care, emergency rooms and home health for 14 years, she returned to school and obtained her registered nurse (RN) degree from Midland College. Since obtaining her RN degree, she has worked as a regional director of nursing serving those with IDD (Intellectual Developmental Disabilities), in the cardiac catheterization lab, as director of the certified nurse assistant program for Abilene Christian University and in the home health industry.
She has been married to her husband Christopher for three years, and has a beautiful stepdaughter named Aren and three dogs. She loves having dinner every night as a family, cooking and spending time with her three sisters.
What does a Virtual Care Unit (VCU) Manager do at Contessa?
As one of the managers of the Virtual Care Unit (VCU), I oversee the daily processes of the virtual Recovery Care Coordinators (RCCs) and Recovery Partners (RPs) in the Allegheny Health Network and Penn State Health markets. I work closely with the directors of Recovery Care at Home to ensure that our patients are receiving quality care at home utilizing best practices, as well as hosting interdisciplinary team meetings to ensure we are reaching the goals specific to each patient. I also support implementations of new and existing markets with workflows, training and daily processes.
Why did you choose a career in healthcare? Specifically, this career?
I always knew I wanted to be a nurse. I felt that it was a calling that I had from a young age. When my grandmother had become sick, I saw my dad caring for her at home, and it became a memory etched in my brain that it was something I wanted to do— to care for people when they are sick.
How does the work you do at Contessa differ from other jobs?
Contessa is a cutting-edge company at the forefront of healthcare. We are constantly changing and adapting to better serve our patients at home, where patients recover from a multitude of illnesses.
What is the best part of your job?
Having the ability to work with some of the best healthcare professionals from across the country that I would have otherwise never had the opportunity to meet. I love being able to see our patients fully recover at home.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
Not having the “hands-on” approach with healthcare that is ingrained while going to nursing school. Working remotely has its challenges, and it makes you think more outside of the box about how to keep your team connected.
What inspires you to come to work every day?
My coworkers from both the VCU and the markets. We all have so many different backgrounds in healthcare and that makes us such a dynamic team. The teamwork with Contessa is some of the best I have ever experienced in 27 years.