Hear more from her in her own words.

What did you want to be as a kid, and how did you ultimately choose your career?

I grew up in a family of healthcare professionals, starting with both parents and including all seven of my siblings. I began as a medical laboratory technologist and practiced overseas for a couple of years. After moving to the United States, I was exposed to the various disciplines and saw opportunities in nursing. I’m very passionate about transformational leadership, case management and utilization review.

What does a typical workday look like?

My day starts with a review of the daily census, discharges and any department events within the last and next 24 hours, which I report during the safety briefing. I participate in Gemba Walk by rotating through the various hospital departments to address real-time patient and staff issues, as well as patient rounding for real-time service recovery.

During the daily multidisciplinary team rounding, I respond to complex issues from physicians and my team and escalate discharge barriers to other department leaders, hospital administration or legal if indicated. My team is very proactive in addressing discharge planning needs and actively engage with nursing staff during “Talk at 2” to improve hospital throughput and decrease opportunity days.

I also participate in various hospital meetings, department surveys and performance improvement projects. Care transition management plays a major role in reducing discharge backlogs, observation hours, length of stay, opportunity days, readmissions and mortality. I also mentor D.N.P., M.S.N., and B.S.N. scholars to achieve required clinical hours, which allows them to view nursing away from the bedside.

What’s your favorite part of your job, and what’s the biggest challenge?

My favorite part of my job is when the most complex or extended length of stay patient safely transitions to the next level of care. It’s also rewarding watching new social workers and nurses who join our team master the complexity of care transition. The most challenging part of my job is working with payors to approve medically necessary services.

What’s something that most people wouldn’t know about you?

I was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and grew up in a large family. Growing up, it was important that we exhibit hard work and gratitude. Faith and family are the two most important things that I hold dear to my heart.

What are some of the ways you strive to serve employees?

I advocate for the needs of my team to make sure they have the tools and resources needed to do their job efficiently. I believe in taking care of my team, so that they can take good care of our patients.

I motivate them to develop critical thinking skills to become independent case managers and focus on the big picture when performing their role. My million-dollar question to the care transition management team during a complex case is “What is our plan A, B and C?” This approach enables the department to look at the case as a shared opportunity and leverage available community resources to ensure we safely transition the patient into the continuum of care. I also mentor my team to grow professionally and support them when they transition to a leadership opportunity.

There’s a quote that inspires me in my daily work. “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets people to do the greatest things.”- Ronald Reagan