ALEXANDRIA, Va. (February 14, 2022) — The National Home Infusion Foundation (NHIF) is proud to announce that Melissa Leone, RN, BSN is the recipient of the 2022 Lynn Giglione Women in Leadership Award.
The Lynn Giglione Women in Leadership Award recognizes and honors trail-blazing and emerging women leaders who have demonstrated exemplary service to patients and their peers while promoting the mission of NHIF. The award was established in 2015 to commemorate the late Lynn Giglione—the award’s namesake and a trailblazer in the home and alternate site infusion industry—who was a founding board member of NHIF.
Leone currently serves as the Executive Director of Nursing Operations at Coram CVS Specialty Infusion Services. She started working in home infusion in 1990 and through various acquisitions and changes, has been in the business for more than three decades.
“Like Lynn, Melissa is an institution in home and alternate site infusion. Her unwavering focus on patient safety and evidence-based approach to clinical decision making have made her a vital collaborator,” said NHIF Board Chair Chris Maksym, RPh, PharmD. “Throughout her career, she has influenced infusion practice and helped cultivate numerous practitioners of excellence and future industry leaders.”
As a manager, Leone is beloved and highly respected. She sets high expectations backed by support and mentorship to propel her staff to grow and develop. She listens carefully to their feedback when considering new policies and workflows and inspires them to strive for excellence in clinical practice with a focus on patient experience. Leone models leadership, working across disciplines and considering everyone’s needs and special abilities to build a strong and successful team. Among other innovations, she developed a retention process to drill down the details of job satisfaction and longevity and implemented a shadowing program to enhance her company’s hiring process.
Leone is highly involved in the home and alternate site infusion industry and has supported several industry organizations including INS and NIOSH. She has been an integral member of NHIA’s Education Committee for more than 20 years helping to generate highly specialized home infusion clinical and nursing content and building out the RN Essentials programming. Leone is also a regular contributor to INFUSION magazine where she has been a leader in sharing practice-related data and clinical practice guidelines. Last year, she was recognized as an NHIA Fellow. Leone earned an associate in Nursing from Macon Junior College and a bachelor’s in Nursing from Southern Connecticut State University.
“I am honored to have been selected for this recognition. I admired Lynn for many years as she expanded her contributions and leadership within NHIF and it is an incredible feeling to be recognized in her memory,” Leone said. “I have enjoyed the opportunity I have had to bring greater attention to the benefits home infusion offers to people seeking alternative care settings and influence change in the health care arena.”
She added that being a part of NHIA gave her a bigger platform and voice through their support of the home infusion community. “I am thankful for that support and this recognition,” Leone said.
Leone will receive the award at NHIA’s 2022 Annual Conference during the Women in Leadership Workshop, being held on Wednesday March 16 from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm Eastern.
NHIF is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that aims to advance the home and specialty infusion field and to support the enhancement of patient care and patient outcomes through leadership, research, and education. Established by the National Home Infusion Association, the Foundation is founded on the belief that delivering the highest quality infusion care to patients is at the heart of the field. Through education and research, the Foundation will strive to build upon the solid groundwork established by the industry more than 30 years ago.
Visit nhia.org for more information.
