Sep
14
2024
Future Leaders: Brittany Arnett, Director of Clinical Operations, Visiting Nurse Health System, Hospice Atlanta
The Future Leaders Awards program is brought to you in partnership with Homecare Homebase. The program is designed to recognize up-and-coming industry members who are shaping the next decade of home health, hospice care, senior housing, skilled nursing, and behavioral health. To see this year’s Future Leaders, visit https://futureleaders.agingmedia.com/.
By Holly Vossell September 13, 2024
Brittany Arnett, director of clinical operations at Visiting Nurse Health System Hospice Atlanta, has been named a 2024 Future Leader by Hospice News.
To become a Future Leader, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a high-performing employee who is 40 years old or younger, a passionate worker who knows how to put vision into action, and an advocate for seniors, and the committed professionals who ensure their well-being.
Arnett recently shared details about her career trajectory with Hospice News about the ways the industry is evolving due to regulatory and staffing forces alongside rising demand.
What drew you to the hospice industry?
I was drawn to the hospice industry as a novice nurse working my first hospital job. I found that I was especially drawn to comfort care patients on my unit, so I was always happy to have them on my caseload for the day.
I didn’t know it at the time, but this is where my heart was being led as these patients encompass every component of what it is to be a nurse.
What’s your biggest lesson learned since starting to work in this industry?
The biggest lesson that I’ve learned since starting in this industry is to open my mind further than imaginable as we are meeting families and patients where they are. I’ve provided care in mansions, and I’ve also provided care in a motel — all in the same day.
Our goal in the hospice industry is to provide dignity and respect to these patients, as well as helping them live while they are dying. Opening my mind in this way allows for the ability to provide the best possible care in the worst-case scenarios.
If you could change one thing with an eye toward the future of hospice, what would it be?
If I could change one thing with an eye towards the future of hospice, it would be for the non-clinical members involved with the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and key congressional stakeholders who work to drive change in the hospice industry to go out with clinicians across the nation to see how some regulations negatively impact the beneficiaries and their families.
I feel that this would change how they drive changes into effect when they see how it impacts these communities.
What do you foresee as being different about the hospice industry looking ahead to 2025?
I foresee the hospice industry to become more and more strict when it comes to the hospice benefit in terms of the length of stay. I foresee the benefit to be driven further and further down from 6 months that is currently required for hospice eligibility.
I also foresee the beginnings of an influx of patients needing this benefit in addition to a decrease in the workforce due to the amount of baby boomers retiring.
In a word, how would you describe the future of hospice?
In one word, I would describe the future of hospice as limitless. The hospice benefit will continue to always change. There will always be leaders to advocate for or against these changes.
Every administrator, clinician, volunteer, etc., that has a heart for hospice can and will provide insight towards what the future of hospice should and will look like. The main element, however, will always remain the same and that is maintaining dignity for those at the end of life.
What quality must all Future Leaders possess?
All Future Leaders must possess emotional intelligence. In order to lead others, one must be able to exude proficiency in self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and have social skills.
It is crucial for a strong future leader to be able to regulate their own thoughts and feelings before leading others.
If you could give advice to yourself looking back to your first day in the industry, what would it be and why?
If I could give advice to myself looking back to my first day in the hospice industry, it would be to never underestimate yourself.
I was still a pretty new nurse when I entered the hospice industry with only two years of experience. Looking back, I can see how I picked up the rules, regulations and flow very quickly. I would have never guessed that I would be close to running an entire branch within five years, but knowing what I know now, the future holds endless possibilities.
To learn more about the Future Leaders program, visit https://futureleaders.agingmedia.com/.
Hospice News is the leading source for news and information covering the hospice industry. Hospice News is part of the Aging Media Network.
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