Colton Woman's Nursing Career Began in High School

CANTON – Tiffany Mitchell, RN, of Colton said that for as long as she can remember she’s wanted to work in Home Health Care.

When asked why she chose this career path, Mrs. Mitchell said she wanted to be able to develop a relationship with her patients.

“I’ve always had an interest in home health care, even before becoming a nurse,” she said, noting that in 2012 while still in high school she began working for United Helpers at Maplewood Health Care & Rehabilitation Center as an activities aide. 

Tiffany Mitchell, RN

While still in high school and taking Health Careers at St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES, Mrs. Mitchell even earned her CNA certification and began working per-diem as a CNA at Maplewood.

Following graduation, Mrs. Mitchell said she attended SUNY Canton, ultimately graduating in 2015 with a nursing degree and becoming a RN. She then spent approximately six months working at Maplewood as an evening supervisor, before the opportunity arose to begin her career in home health care.

“I really enjoy that one on one time with patients and for the most part, I can set my own schedule,” she said. “Being able to have that time and form those relationships is something that other types of nursing do not offer.”

Now that she’s nearly two years into her career as a RN for Northern Lights, Mrs. Mitchell said she’s certain she made the right choice.

“I would recommend Northern Lights to any nurses out there looking for a job,” she said. “Giving people the option to recover in their homes is something that’s important to me,” she said, recalling an elderly gentleman, who became a patient after developing a foot ulcer.

“Doctors told him that his foot would need to be amputated,” she said. “But to him, that wasn’t an option. He told doctors he would rather die than allow them to amputate his foot.”

The gentleman, with no guarantees of success, instead elected for home health care and for two years, nurses from Northern Lights came to his home to care for the wound.

“I worked with him for about a year and during that time his wound healed and we were able to discharge him,” she said, adding stories like that show how rewarding a career in home health care can be.

For more information on Northern Lights Home Health Care and how you can start your career in home health care, please call (315) 714-3135, like Northern Lights on Facebook or visit www.mynorthernlights.org/employment-opportunities.

Northern Lights is owned and operated through a partnership that includes United Helpers, Canton-Potsdam Hospital, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center and Hospice and Palliative Care of St. Lawrence Valley.