At Ascend, we’re constantly trying to highlight the amazing work our staff does to show them some appreciation and to show you a little bit about what we do behind the scenes. As we grow, we bring on more and more staff that help our clients thrive and ensure the smooth operations of every facility. With this month’s spotlight, we want to talk about a day in the life of Nurse Josseline. Find out what she does at Ascend and why we love having her on our team when you read on here.
A Nurse Who Does It All
Josseline is an LVN that provides care and support to all the teens living in our residential treatment facilities. She evaluates medical needs and communicates the essentials to our physicians and therapists, as well as administers medications and explains what clients can expect from every dose. Josseline does everything from body checks and vital assessments to lab orders and UA collection.
Josseline has a great rapport with our clients, and they trust her enough to tell her their concerns, share with her how their medication is affecting them, and tell her when anything medical-related is bothering them.
Getting Her Start
Josseline arrived at Ascend with more than just years of experience as a caregiver, she also comes to us full of passion that encourages her to care for others. Her first nursing job was as a CNA at Country Villa Westwood, and that’s where she learned how much she truly loves taking care of people. Her connection with the seniors there showed her that even though the work isn’t always easy, seeing patients happy makes her happy to put in the effort.
After working at Country Villa Westwood, Josseline worked as an administrator, LVN, and lead staff member at another behavioral residential facility for patients with developmental disabilities. Because of her range of experience, working with all types of people, we knew Josseline would be a good fit at Ascend.
Why Josseline Loves Ascend
While Josseline has loved every job in the mental health and medical field because she gets to see the progress her clients make and hear their success stories, she’s stayed with Ascend for so long because of our great leaders and the dedication every staff member has to their work. She truly feels like Ascend provides a healthy familial dynamic that lifts everyone up and encourages them to do their best.
Why We Love Josseline
If her experience as a nurse and her compassionate care weren’t enough for us, Josseline is a great part of our team because she has an outstanding work ethic. Her dedication to completing her work makes it easier to ensure continuity of care and a high level of care for every client. Even when she can’t complete a task, she doesn’t just leave it undone! She passes on all the necessary information to a coworker to make sure everything is done on time — even when she can’t do it herself.
A Day In Her Life
So we’ve given you an idea of what Josseline’s responsibilities are at our facilities, but there’s so much more to it than just giving out medications and taking vitals. When she first comes in, Josseline usually goes around to wake up the clients and update them about meds pass. Sometimes clients don’t want to get up or are resistant to taking medications, so she has to affirm and support them through any concerns.
Then, she’ll do a daily individual assessment to find out how they feel, how they slept, and if they need to report anything to the physician or nurse on staff. After the clients are up and ready to go, Josseline may move on to paperwork, medication counts, and reorders. She also frequently collaborates with our other nurses, like Lisette, during shift reports and medical team meetings.
In Her Downtime
As if Josseline wasn’t giving and caring enough at work, there is one more thing she does in her free time: cooking for the homeless. This is a task she takes on in her downtime, cooking with her son and passing out food to people around the Panorama City and Van Nuys area. Their favorite dishes to make include African food with stewed tomatoes, fried plantains, and lamb or chicken with veggies. For Josseline, caring about people doesn’t stop when she’s off the clock!
Keeping Up With Our Staff
Josseline is just one of the people that keeps Ascend running and ensures our clients are provided with the highest level of care. She does her work with a smile on her face and love in her heart. Every day she learns something new about what it means to work with teens in mental health, and she can’t wait to expand her horizons even more!
Curious about some of the other members of our team? Check out other spotlights for a unique look at a day in someone’s life at Ascend:
- Managing the Schedule with Molly
- Following the Rules with Ashtar
- Getting Artsy with Jahmario
- Mentoring with Destiny
And make sure to stop by our blog next month for another spotlight coming soon!
