In January 2020, none of us knew what was coming.

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By April, I'd been laid off from my health IT consulting role. Four family members were diagnosed with COVID-19. Two died within 48 hours of their initial COVID Pneumonia diagnosis: my grandmother in New York City and my aunt in London.

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Painful was an understatement. I was numb.

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My family didn't get to identify her body for nearly a month. I wondered who held her hand. Who spoke with her last. Who saw her take her last breath.

I knew it was a nurse. And I knew that nurse was drowning.

I wondered how the frequent deaths impacted my colleagues still working the frontlines and caring for COVID-19 patients.

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The Call

I felt guilty. Like a survivor's remorse. I could not travel to NYC at the time but still wanted to do something for the Georgia healthcare workforce.

I've been in clinical informatics since 2007 and have run my own health IT consultancy since 2012. Throughout my 20+ year career, I'd served patients across orthopedics, home care, medical-surgical, and cardiac units.

But watching my colleagues struggle through PPE shortages and impossible choices, I felt completely helpless.

Like Mary Jane Seacole, a nurse pioneer fighting the Cholera epidemic in the 1800s, I had a choice to make and answered the call to serve when needed most.

Already a nurse and community leader, I knew the frontline healthcare workers needed help to survive this pandemic. We were all in THIS TOGETHER.

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The Plan

I created a flyer requesting cleaning supplies and PPE from my neighbors. I drove around my subdivision in my husband's Chevy Silverado, tapping the horn and collecting supplies. I sanitized everything and delivered our first haul to the local hospital where my son was born.

Within one week, 50+ volunteers joined the effort.

Together, we mobilized resources. Some sewed masks. Restaurant partners provided meals. Community organizations opened their doors. This wasn't about me leading alone. This was about connecting people who wanted to help with the urgent need in front of us.

On April 1, 2020, I woke up knowing it was time to formalize our collective efforts into a nonprofit organization.

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The Miracle

Most nonprofits wait 3 to 6 months for IRS 501(c)(3) approval.

I filed on April 17th. We received approval on April 30th.

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— in just 13 days.

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I knew that this was meant to be and with God leading at the forefront, nothing was impossible.

By summer 2020, we received six-figure grant funding and were invited to join Gwinnett Cares, a grassroots initiative galvanizing community stakeholders to care for our community through the pandemic.

By fall 2020, we had collectively impacted more than 13,000 lives in 10 counties across Georgia.

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Present Day

We built 60+ partnerships across healthcare systems, community-based organizations, government agencies, and corporations. We didn't just provide crisis relief. We built an ecosystem of support: connecting resources to needs, connecting frontline workers to leadership pathways, connecting community voices to policy tables. To date, we've impacted 25,000+ lives through crisis relief, scholarships, mentorship, and advocacy.

HHCP is now the state lead organization for Nurse Shift Change, a national coalition amplifying frontline voices in healthcare policy.​

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I continue to work clinically in acute neuroscience and run JNI Consulting. As a nurse informaticist and nurse leader, I ensure we remain committed to building partnerships that endure and platforms that empower the next generation of healthcare leaders.

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What I've Learned

Healthcare doesn't need more experts working in silos. It needs systems builders who can connect clinical expertise, technology strategy, and policy influence.

Each day, I remain grateful for the opportunity to be empathetic and nurse in unique ways and to show others that you don't need an invitation to create change.

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"You need a vision, the courage to build, and the wisdom to know you can't do it alone."

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