Ara is the manager of the Behavioral Health Department of Nursing. She has come to lead all of the BH nurses under one nurse manager, whereas these nurses were not always nurse-managed or in our own department. In bringing together this group of KP nurses and clinical assistants, she has developed a solid psychiatric behavioral health nursing team that takes on a wide scope of nursing practice within the BH department and the whole organization towards evidence-based, efficient, and effective patient care and use of KP services.

Ara has led nurses working on multiple HEDIS measures towards improved scores. She has supported the development of the SPMI program and Chemical Dependency services, where 6 of her staff members are working to care for the most vulnerable of our BH members. Ara is exceptionally encouraging and supportive of the team's ongoing professional education and development, working on UBT projects to improve workflows, services, and the advancement of our nurses' credentialing as KP seeks Magnet Nursing accreditation.

Ara's open-door policy permits her staff to have daily access to her supervision and leadership in problem-solving, case consultation, and those "now-what" moments that can't be planned for. Her management style, communication, and leadership have improved morale and brought excitement to the team in being an important part of the process of collaboration and sharing of best practices in our work and the passion for what we do as nurses. Ara is an awesome manager and leader. She is someone who not only walks to the walk but leads by example. She encourages active engagement among the nurse team, providing us with opportunities to create workflows that improve our department in both efficiency and patient care. She values our feedback and does her absolute best to advocate for the nursing team. Many of our nurses have taken on responsibilities and piloted initiatives, such as population health, HEDIS measures, and SMI, because of her incredible ability to identify our individual strengths and understand where we can be of most value and help, too. Last, her compassion and empathy shine bright. She is able to balance her role as our manager and a nurse colleague. As a group, we do not feel like someone working under her but as someone working beside her.