Year of the Nurse: Caring for Patients in Their Homes

Munson Healthcare Home Health Private Duty nurse Joy Davila, RN, believes her career is the result of heavenly and earthly influence.

“My decision to pursue nursing was God’s guidance on my life, but there were a few factors that propelled me forward,” she said. “My mother has worked for Home Health for almost 20 years now, she is an inspiration to me. I was working as a Home Health aide, when I went through a divorce in 2012. I completed nursing school as a single mother of three, working nights. Making a better life for my family helped me to focus on reaching higher, and to become a R.N.” 

Caring with Compassion

Seven years into her nursing career, she has found many moments that remind her why traveling to patient homes and providing high-quality nursing care is exactly what she was meant to do.

“It is the times when a patient, or their family, relates to me as more than a nurse, but someone who has come through for them in a difficult time with a compassionate heart,” she said. “Those moments provide personal growth and appreciation, for the nursing profession. I expect to have many more moments like these.”

Year of the Nurse

During the WHO Year of the Nurse in 2020, she believes the founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale still serves as a great role model for everyone in her profession.

“It is humbling to be a part of a profession that necessitates one to have high ethics and commitment to their obligations. No matter what the circumstances or challenges may be, such as the pandemic, there will always be nurses ready and willing to serve their communities,” she said. “It is extraordinarily uplifting to honor this group of dedicated professionals, in 2020, the Year of the Nurse.”

Joy also shares there are some things that people are surprised to learn about her. “I started out wanting to be a missionary; I have served in Mexico, India and the Ukraine. My work focused on orphans and at risk children. I would love to use my nursing skills overseas, to help again in this way, when the time is right.”

Learn more about Munson Healthcare Home Health services.