Colette Jones, who leads the Quality Oversight and Program Alignment (QOPA) section within the Health Care Authority’s Medicaid Programs Division, has been selected as a 2024 NurseTRUST Fellow.
She joins other leadership-driven nurses around the nation in the NurseTRUST Emerging Leaders Program.
The limited program accepts approximately 24 nurse leaders annually. New fellows are guided along their path to develop further leadership skills. “I’m excited to learn leadership techniques and bring these back to the agency as opportunities for growth… I want to find ways to empower our teams,” Colette said.
Colette holds a master’s in nursing from the Intercollegiate College of Nursing through Washington State University, specializing in population-based care in communities.
Prior to HCA, Colette developed her health care background through direct patient care. She worked with clients of various ages and studied in different settings including pediatrics, medical-surgical inpatient care, geriatric wound care in skilled nursing facilities, diabetes education, and specialty clinic care.
The NurseTRUST organization was created by members of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows program. The organization seeks to inspire and expand the skills of nurse leaders to transform health equity and health care. This work is portrayed through facilitating collaboration amongst members to advance health care. Empowering members is integral to introducing new and skilled health care leaders into the health system and improving health outcomes.
“Our agency is full of leaders - not just our leaders in management, but roles across the agency that impact the health care of clients we serve. These roles can lead from the side for peer growth, lead up to management initiatives, and lead out to the community,” she said. “The better we are able to communicate our goals and program changes, the better we can effectively drive care in our state.”
In her role at HCA, Colette leads the QOPA team to oversee outcomes that Apple Health (Medicaid) clients experience that result from the quality strategy and design of Washington state’s Medicaid delivery system. Her team accomplishes this by focusing on the care received through the agency’s contracted managed care organizations (MCO) and other related contractors.
“We are challenged with supporting a multi-faceted program covering whole-person care across physical health, substance use disorder, and mental health care alongside agency partners who deliver care for individuals with developmental disabilities and long-term care service needs”, Colette said.
“I am a nurse first. It’s how I see the world: how can I support people heal in a holistic manner? I value systems designed to support quality care accessible to all people.”
Colette’s involvement in NurseTRUST as an HCA leader will magnify their efforts to empower health workers. Collette shared that “we are stronger together because we have more ideas as we come from different perspectives.”