Spotlight: Janelle, Director of Nursing

This week we wanted to introduce another key member of our office staff, our Director of Nursing, Janelle! Janelle is driven, whip smart, and is an amazing problem solver! She’s lived in the Twin Cities her whole life, but working for COC gave her and her family the flexibility to move to a farm in East Bethel with 2 horses, 3 goats, 8 bunnies, 5 chickens, 2 ducks, 2 dogs, and 2 cats. And 3 children!

Janelle worked as a dietary aide in nursing homes after getting her nursing assistant certificate. She completed Anoka Ramsey Community College’s nursing program, and COC was her first nursing job in 2009. She cared for an adult male with muscular dystrophy full time for a year, so she has excellent complex home care experience. Janelle worked for four years in a nursing home and with COC, which is still common among nurses. She liked the small, personable nature of COC and the clients she worked with.

COC put out a call for skilled nursing management in 2014, which she landed. She assisted the previous DON and then became the FT DON in 2016. “Even though it’s not initially what I saw myself doing, I made it my career choice because I like the work and the company; it’s a small business, privately owned, with open communication.”

COC gives Janelle a more flexible schedule and challenging and varied work. She enjoys the hands-on aspects of field work and the focused nature of office work combined.

We are so lucky to have such a driven and hardworking woman on our team!

Excellence in Home Care

April 2, 2021

Joan Vaughn

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Written by Joan Vaughn

I’m Joan, and I know home care from the inside out. I’ve navigated my daughter through 24/7 home care nursing and managed her PCA’s. I’ve helped my parents move into (and out of) assisted living, Medicare episodes, skilled nurse visits, home health aids, and PCAs. Sandwiched in all of that, I’ve helped coordinate home care equipment and supplies, physical therapists, occupational therapists, county workers, and medications (oh, the medications). I know emergency departments, children’s hospitals, cancer wards, cardiac floors, and specialty units. I can recite health insurance policies (and call their bluff). I know a lot of other things in life too, like Shakespeare, where to sit to see a great sunset over a lake, how to keep myself healthy, how to read a profit/loss statement and state statutes, when to use a comma, and that gratitude is one of the keys to success. So I’m going to have this blog and write about home care from time to time. I’ll include topics like current legislation, professional boundaries in a tricky environment, and being a caregiver. I’ll also post some guest blogs from clients and nurses. Join me in the conversation.

View all posts by: Joan Vaughn

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