I conducted a recent observation (“ride-along”) visit with an RN I supervise, Ms. Felicia Lloyd. Felicia is one of our Mental Health Intensive Case Management (MHICM) nurses, and I want to highlight some of the outstanding qualities she brings to the MHICM team. Felicia has been with the VA for 13 years, and 5 years have been spent with the MHICM program. Felicia genuinely cares for the Veterans she serves, and she makes sure they know it. She is willing to sacrifice her personal time to “close the loop” on any issues a Veteran is experiencing. At the heart of Felicia’s practice is putting Veterans’ psychosocial needs first and a love of watching Veterans meet their treatment goals. She addresses each Veteran as the whole person, not just the condition they present with for treatment. Felicia stays flexible as a case manager recognizing that Veterans’ goals change and evolve throughout the continuum of care and sometimes it’s necessary to branch outside the treatment plan. Whether the Veteran needs help with new immediate placement, social security benefits, a new roof following a major storm, or they seek assistance with substance abuse, Felicia is there to assist. Needs as unique as these can’t always be anticipated, so Felicia has learned to meet each encounter with an openness to these possibilities. I was able to witness firsthand an MHICM success story of which Felicia was at the helm. A single mother of a young daughter was struggling with issues related to Bipolar disorder and substance abuse. She refused to seek treatment due to a fear of leaving her daughter alone. Felicia was able to facilitate the Veteran finding a trusted babysitter for her daughter so an ER visit could be made. Felicia spent 4+ hours in the ER with the Veteran, providing emotional support until the Veteran could be admitted to an inpatient facility. Following her discharge from inpatient treatment, Felicia assisted her with seeking substance abuse treatment. After achieving this goal, Felicia explored with the Veteran other outlets she could turn to to avoid returning to substance abuse. With this encouragement, the Veteran rediscovered her love for long-distance racing. She has since remained drug-free for 5+ months, has shed her excess weight gain, and has competed in two 100K races. In both races, her time broke records. She has two more races scheduled for the month of October. Her anxiety has decreased, her health has improved mentally and physically, and her determined spirit has reemerged. The Veteran reports that without Felicia’s unwavering support, none of this would have been possible. Thank you, Felicia, for your ongoing commitment to MHICM and for going above and beyond to serve our nation’s heroes.