RN Nicholas serves a crucial role as the sole registered nurse onboard Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command San Diego Detachment at Naval Air Facility El Centro. She repeatedly goes above and beyond her job description to ensure that Naval Branch Health Clinic (NBHC) El Centro functions at a high capacity. She has served onboard NBHC El Centro for well over 10 years and has become the clinic’s point of reference for patient care, infection control, Healthcare Effectiveness Data, and Information Set (HEDIS) Metrics, and continuous process-improvement. A driven leader, she exhibits an abundance of knowledge and trains incoming corpsmen and medical officers to meet compliance standards set forth by the Joint Commission.

A local to Imperial County, she serves a critical role in a geographically-isolated duty station and is familiar with specialty services in the local community to ensure quality patient care for all beneficiaries. As the Quality Assurance Manager, RN Nicholas services and is meticulous in her monitoring of 35 medical and ancillary spaces. She utilizes monthly tracers while teaching junior enlisted sailors guidelines to perform inspections on clinic areas which encompass infection control, environment of care, immunizations, and medication administration. She continuously reviews over 250 line items to identify deficiencies, enforce process improvements, and ensure healthcare workers observe best practices in compliance with The Joint Commission policies.

Most recently, she has taken initiative in coordinating weekly Joint Commission walk-throughs with clinic leaders to ensure any deficiencies are observed and addressed in preparation for the upcoming command inspection. As one of the MHS Genesis Expert Users, she ensures that staff is educated on the proper appointment scheduling and completion of the comprehensive ambulatory intake during the patient screening process for every in-person appointment. Furthermore, she serves as the Televox manager and updates the Department Head on patient no-shows, past-due arrivals, and clinic access reports on a daily basis. As the HEDIS Metrics Champion, she monitors over 600 patients enrolled in five clinical registries to ensure the most up-to-date care and health screenings are offered in the following areas: diabetes management, asthma, mental health, preventive screenings, and lower back pain.

Furthermore, RN Nicholas utilizes Carepoint metrics to ensure that proper patient follow-ups, laboratory tests, and prescriptions are ordered. She also audits providers’ records on a monthly basis to ensure proper patient goals are being addressed. Within the past month, she has assisted the Department Head and clinic leaders on the annual Standard Operating Procedure review which serves as a reference for all processes enacted by the clinic. RN Nicholas’s role as the sole registered nurse onboard NBHC El Centro is critical to the clinic’s superior performance. She leads by example and has set superior standards for enlisted sailors and officers to succeed. Her attention to detail through continuous audits and scrupulous inspections maintain the clinic’s readiness for the Joint Commission at all times. Due to her compassionate caregiving and exceptional patient care, Nurse Nicholas played a key role in the clinic’s Joint Outpatient Experience Survey (JOES) Best-of-the-Best FY22 Q1 award.