Alicia carries out the JPS mission every day by working to transform the homeless community she serves. She does this by increasing access to health care by collaboratively embedding herself within one of the homeless shelters, and working towards improving health outcomes and quality of the residents. She is a tireless data collector to watch for trends that can be improved upon or changed in order to improve health outcomes.
One of the physicians at the clinic asked Alicia, "Why are you so perfect?". That is an honest question. Excellence is how you could sum up Alicia's performance in one word. When she makes a mistake she is quick to take ownership. She will own up to her shortcomings. She appreciates accountability and is an anchor on our team who helps hold all of us accountable for efficiency, timeliness, and paying attention to detail.
Alicia is somewhat of a data collection nerd. She is always counting things, tracking her work and others. She does this all on her own. One thing she tracks are the death of our patients. There is normally a community memorial for the patients who have passed during the year who were either homeless at the time of their passing or had been homeless. She noticed the community was not having a memorial this year and brought this to my attention. She did not feel comfortable not bringing memory and dignity to those who have passed away under our care. Not to honor those who had died did not sit well with her. Within about 48 hours Alicia coordinated a memorial service that was meaningful and set the stage for future events. It also sent a loud and powerful message to the homeless patients and homeless service community that we at JPS care deeply about our patients and our community. Alicia is a role model not only within nursing but for all humanity.