Ever since she was a little girl, Tiffany Mathis has looked up to nurses. Her respect for them grew when her older sister entered the field of nursing.
“I looked up to her when I was younger, and I’ve always thought nurses are people we should admire,” Tiffany said. “I have never wanted to be anything other than a nurse.”
Tiffany’s dream came true, and she is now the director of nursing at Carmel Health & Living. Her journey to this position started back in 2004 when she began working at University Heights Health & Living as a certified nursing assistant. As she fell in love with caring for the residents, Tiffany felt compelled to move further in her career. The birth of her son in 2009 also inspired her to pursue her professional aspirations in order to provide the best for her family.
Tiffany continued working at University Heights on nights and weekends as she put herself through nursing school. She graduated in 2014 and started serving as a registered nurse. She kept steadily rising through the ranks, eventually becoming unit manager and then assistant director of nursing in 2016. After almost two years in this role, Tiffany decided to “branch out a bit” and explore other opportunities in the medical world, but when the director of nursing position at Carmel Health & Living opened up in 2018, she couldn’t resist returning to long-term care.
“Long-term care is where my heart is,” Tiffany said. “What I love about it are the relationships I build with residents. You truly get to know them and their families, and they depend on us as caregivers to take care of them and their loved ones. That is a big job, and it’s rewarding for sure. If I can do something to make even just one person’s day a little brighter, I feel satisfied.”
Now that she has been part of the CarDon community for more than 10 years, residents and co-workers feel like family to Tiffany at this point. She loves seeing them every day, and she looks forward to learning and growing alongside them in the years to come.
“I truly enjoy educating, developing and hopefully inspiring my team here,” Tiffany said. “At the end of the day, the greatest reward is knowing that we are making a positive difference for the people we serve.”
