Spring 2020

Joy began her journey when she took nursing as a pre med course, where she was so inspired by her nursing professors that she decided to pursue it full time. As she puts it, they taught her “the passion and beauty of nursing.”

Twenty years later, Joy is still loving her profession. Patients love her—if you met her, you’d understand why. Joy carries a bright, cheerful energy that lights up any room.

When we asked Joy why nursing is so fulfilling to her, she stressed the importance of advocacy—she enjoys advocating for her clients and providing them with the tools to advocate for themselves. Joy truly loves making a difference in someone else’s life, no matter how big or small.

Joy shared her most treasured memory as a nurse—a time when she cared for a patient with liver, heart and kidney failure. While the patient was in the ICU for 3 months, Joy and their team did everything they could for the patient. As she recalls,

“He finally got his heart, kidney, and liver all at the same time! He came back to us after surgery looking healthy and happy and thanking our crew. He also left  us a  picture book of his journey. Seeing him happy and healthy after his journey was the most rewarding experience I had  in my nursing career.”

As Joy loves to say, “Life is good!”—and we couldn’t agree more. We’re so pleased to celebrate Joy as an honoree of the Melissa A. Fischer Nursing Award.