Jessica is the Mental Health Educator for the Mental Health and Wellness Department. She is an exceptional nurse leader due to her dedication to patients and employees alike. She created a program for youth called Take Action to Save Kids (TASK). This initiative is a preventative mental health program where children ages k-8th grade are assessed and those who are deemed at-risk will receive interventions to prevent issues from manifesting into a mental health crisis. This program has been implemented, and children are receiving social and emotional learning in the classroom. Teachers received Youth Mental Health First Aid training. Children are assessed, and an individual plan of care is devised with the input of the parents, child, and school. Jessica was asked to speak at the MISD Annual Mental Health Conference to social workers where she presented about youth and self-harm.

She has made great strides to promote the well-being of employees at MMH. The Mental Health and Wellness Department came together to create a Code Lavender Program that supports employees during traumatic events at work and during personal crises. She organized the team to get Crisis Intervention and Stress Management Training similar to the training of those in law enforcement and fire department. She has made efforts to educate the hospital about the purpose of the Code Lavender team and on many occasions, the team has been dispersed to meet with interdisciplinary teams to defuse and debrief about a traumatic loss. Within this program individual staff who have a personal crisis come to the mental health office and are provided support, guidance, and resources in a confidential setting.

Under the Code Lavender umbrella, Jessica served on and collaborated with the Workplace Violence Prevention Intervention Committee. She has organized leaders to become instructors in Crisis Prevention Intervention and created classes for nurses and other disciplines to receive education about de-escalation and preventing violence in the workplace. Along with this, Jessica writes a monthly article in the Derrick about mental health. She recently collaborated with Rebekah Powers and created a PowerPoint for an ethics discussion related to substance use.

Jessica is continuing to expand her skills and is enrolled in a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner program at Texas Tech and will graduate in December of this year. She also recently received a certification in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Jessica is a leader and role model in the department. She continues to train and support new mental health evaluators, nurse interns, and other disciplines.

Lastly, she has an incredible creative talent, which she utilizes to make the hospital environment more enjoyable. She organized a group canvas painting for mental health month which is now posted as a mural on the wall on the 1st floor. She organized a trivia session for Suicide Prevention Month. She continues to find creative ways to pique the interest of employees so they can not only learn but have team building opportunities. Jessica's exemplary skills and innovative spirit make her a true DAISY Nurse Leader.