The National Home Infusion Foundation (NHIF) has recognized Melissa Leone, RN, BSN, with the 2022 Lynn Giglione Women in Leadership Award.
The Lynn Giglione Women in Leadership Award recognizes and honors trailblazing 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.
“I am honored to have been selected for this recognition,” Leone said. “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. 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.”
“Like Lynn, Melissa is an institution in home and alternate site infusion,” said NHIF Board Chair Chris Maksym, RPh, PharmD. “Her unwavering focus on patient safety and evidence-based approach to clinical decision making have made her a vital collaborator. Throughout her career, she has influenced infusion practice and helped cultivate numerous practitioners of excellence and future industry leaders.”
Leone is deeply 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 specialized home infusion clinical and nursing content and building out the RN Essentials programming. Last year, she was recognized as an NHIA Fellow.
Also, Leone is also a regular contributor to INFUSION magazine, where she has been a leader in sharing practice-related data and clinical practice guidelines.