Nurse Client Advocates
Our Nurse Client Advocates (NCAs) lead a team of specialists to support you and your family in making smart decisions, focusing on wellness and managing complex health issues. We develop custom plans based on a broad range of experience and specialties, including geriatrics, pediatrics, mental health, care coordination, disability and chronic disease management.
Leadership
Mindy Legler Jones
Founding Principal
mljones@pyxiscare.com Mindy Legler Jones
Founding Principal
mljones@pyxiscare.com“We can’t change aging or cure catastrophic illnesses, but we can make the journey easier and provide peace of mind to our clients. When I see how our families are impacted by our care, this is the reward and reason for PyxisCare.”
–Mindy Jones, PyxisCare Management Founding Principal, MS, MBA, CSA
Mindy Jones, Founding Principal of PyxisCare Management, created the company after seeing a gap in how families and individuals navigate our complex healthcare system. Learn more about what inspired her to create the PyxisCare concept.
Tell us about yourself. I grew up in a military family, was born in Germany and attended eight different schools across the US and abroad. Despite the challenges of growing up in the military and being the new kid on the block, I experienced a global, diverse world that taught me to think outside the box. From a young age I excelled in science, and earned a biology degree from Indiana University, and then a Masters in Horticulture Studies from Purdue University. Later I earned an MBA from UT Dallas.
After college I worked as a florist, a chemist, and in a greenhouse. I loved using my horticulture degree, but my entrepreneurial spirit drove me to a career in pharmaceutical sales and marketing management. Through this experience of learning more about the wide range of complex medical needs, I knew I would someday own and operate a company that helped people manage their healthcare experience.
Being involved in my community is important to me and to the culture of our team. I serve on the board of Texas Wall Street Women and the Timberview High School Band Booster Club. I am the fundraising chair for two Scout troops and I teach Bible study at our church.
How did PyxisCare get started? I was fortunate to live close to my grandparents while pursuing my master’s degree at Purdue, and I spent time helping them navigate a health care system none of us understood. They were part of the Greatest Generation; my grandfather served in World War II. I researched how they could
best utilize our complex Medicare system. What does it cover? How does it work? This experience planted the seeds for PyxisCare.
After this and my pharmaceutical experience, I felt called to create a business that could help people like my grandparents. I noticed a gap in our complicated health care system. Frustrated patients and families struggle to figure out where and how to get the care they need. Our current system does not take a holistic approach to care, meaning it doesn’t consider financials, family, spirituality, and emotional health. This inspired me create a business model that would bridge these gaps.
It was important that PyxisCare would hire only the most qualified team. Nurses make the best consultants and are the most trusted professionals. The understand the emotional challenges and they also understand the complexity of healthcare coverage. The first nurse I hired came from a strong psychiatric hospital background, with a long career caring for patients with mental health challenges and brain injuries. At PyxisCare, she impacted so many patients and their families, meeting them where they were with compassion and grace. It was inspiring and I continued to be awed by this work.
The purpose of PyxisCare from the beginning was to investigate, assess, and determine the needs of our clients’ and then craft a plan of action to help them. What do I need to do to assist? Where are the best resources on behalf of this client? Our care is patient-centric, patient-driven and unique to each client.
What are your responsibilities at PyxisCare? As the chief brand ambassador, I oversee all facets of our company from clinical expertise and integrated care coordination to recruiting and business development. I communicate daily with existing stakeholders, collaborators and potential resources on behalf of our clients. We provide the highest level of service and expertise to help our clients so they can find best healthcare solutions for themselves and their loved ones. This is why PyxisCare exists. I am passionate about this and have published papers on the topic of lack of preventative care and how it negatively affects care costs and overall health outcome.
What is the most important change you’ve seen in the industry? The healthcare industry has changed and costs have soared beyond imagination. This has affected not just individuals but companies large and small. A few years ago, PyxisCare expanded to support companies and their leaders with strategic health plan management and with onsite care coordination through our Personal Health Nurses. Developing these programs with CEOs, CFOs or COOs has been transformative for the companies and also for my team. We have been fortunate to be on the leading edge of innovation, problem-solving and compassion that helps recruit, retain and preserve profits.
What brings you joy about leading PyxisCare? We often meet our clients at an important inflection point: individual clients when they are at their most vulnerable, and our corporate clients when they are making strategic decisions that affect people and profits. This is a huge responsibility that I take seriously.
A business must make money, but what motivates me every day is working for a company that creates jobs, impacts change, and compassionately serves people where they are. Seniors and people struggling with mental health and debilitating illnesses can’t advocate for themselves. Our team listens to their struggles, and we involve family members to advocate and support them. Our employees comfort, build trust and serve families and individuals struggling to cope with serious medical challenges. Our magic is in the customer service we bring to families.
We can’t change aging or cure catastrophic illnesses, but we can make the journey easier and provide peace of mind to our clients. Our corporate clients see financial and organizational benefits; it’s hugely satisfying to help a small or mid-sized company support their workforce and become more profitable.
But what sparks our joy is still the personal impact we have on people. This is what makes PyxisCare special.
Duyen Nguyen
Director of Personal Health Nursing
duyen.nguyen@pyxiscare.com Duyen Nguyen
Director of Personal Health Nursing
duyen.nguyen@pyxiscare.com“I enjoy teaching people how to optimize their health and best utilize the healthcare system. I want to help them achieve their health goals and manage their chronic conditions so they don’t end up in the hospital.”
— Duyen Nguyen, Director of Personal Health Nursing
Duyen N. moved more than 8,000 miles, worked 11 part-time jobs to pay her way through nursing school, and spent five years in one of the nation’s busiest hospitals to prepare for her best role yet.
Duyen is PyxisCare Management’s first Personal Health Nurse. The new position is embedded in an employer’s organization and allows Nguyen to proactively engage with a client’s employees, build relationships and collaborate to improve overall health.
“It’s more than coincidence,” Duyen says. “I feel like this role is really meant for me.”
Duyen grew up in Vietnam and was inspired to study nursing at age 16 when her older brother was partially paralyzed in an accident. She admired the way nurses supported his recovery and saw the profession as a way to build a better life.
During nursing school, Duyen met an exchange student who encouraged her to apply for a U.S. student visa. That move led her to enroll in the nursing program at Dallas County’s El Centro College, to take English classes, and then to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from The University of Texas at Arlington.
Since then, Duyen has worked in Parkland Hospital’s psychiatry-medicine and emergency departments and in the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas emergency room. She founded the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Vietnamese American Nurses Association to unite providers and promote community health through outreach, research, education and disease prevention.
Her PyxisCare role draws upon her extensive professional experience while casting her as the team’s health coach rather than a one-time care provider for the employees.
“I enjoy teaching people how to optimize their health and best utilize the healthcare system,” Duyen says. “I want to help them achieve their health goals and manage their chronic conditions so they don’t end up in the hospital.”
Duyen works from an onsite office, scheduling general information sessions and one-on-one meetings to create a personal relationship with employees and understand their health histories, discuss goals and learn whether they have primary care providers. She wants them to “own” their personal medical information and to understand why legal documents like powers of attorney and living wills are needed.
“It’s a smart business decision, too,” she says.
Employees who see a regular primary care provider, eat healthy foods and maintain an active lifestyle generally are happier and more productive at work, Duyen says. Those who are willing to minimize consumption of high-salt, high-sugar foods often can reduce negative effects of chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes. They generally miss less work and have lower insurance costs, she says.
“The employees have been very interested. I told them I want them to live their optimum life and that I will be here for them.”
Stephanie Cook
Nurse Client Advocate
stephanie.cook@pyxiscare.com Stephanie Cook
Nurse Client Advocate
stephanie.cook@pyxiscare.com“Our more mature clients have had the opportunity to reflect over
their lives, and I have compassion for their stories and experiences.
It’s an honor to provide resources and guidance to these clients.”
Stephanie Cook, PyxisCare’s newest Nurse Client Advocate, brings more than 16 years of teaching experience along with the ability to see the humanity and unique needs of every person she works with. She can take a complicated medical process and deliver it in understandable terms and easy-to-follow instructions, knowing that clients are not medical professionals.
What lead you to pursue a nursing career? I grew up close to my dad, and he encouraged me to pursue a nursing career. I have such respect for him, it was an easy choice to pursue a bachelor’s degree in this field. After I graduated and began working, I quickly realized this was God’s calling for me and my dad was right. For 24 years I’ve treated patients in med surgical, cardiac ICU, home health, and nursing homes. Additionally, I’ve taught nursing and medical classes at a junior college for 16 years.
Tell us about your role at PyxisCare As a Nurse Client Advocate, I first meet with families to understand their situation. Our medical system is complicated and difficult to navigate. I serve as a bridge to our messy system and collaborate with the PyxisCare team to find whole-person integrated solutions, meeting clients where they are. We serve families in five areas: medical, environmental, financial, psycho-social, and legal. Some families need help in all the areas and some in just one or two areas.
I particularly like that PyxisCare pairs clients with team members who can best serve their needs. My specialty is adults and geriatrics, but I’m also qualified to serve in other areas. To best support our clients, we partner with other team members with specialties such as mental health, pediatrics, and hospice. This ensures that clients are getting the best expertise for what they need.
Can you give us some examples of how you help families? We help families understand how they can get services such as Medicaid, assistance with meals and groceries, and finding a caregiver. If they need a ramp or other home accommodations, we find solutions. Often clients don’t understand what’s available to them. For example, a client came to us with a health issue that surgery could correct. The family did not realize surgery was an option and we explained how surgery could help and researched surgeon options.
What do you love about nursing and what unique skills do you bring to PyxisCare? Our older clients have had the opportunity to reflect over their lives, and I have compassion for their stories and experiences. It’s an honor to provide resources and guidance to these clients. Sometimes our clients are challenged with loss, grief, financial issues, and loneliness, and this can be difficult. Our team cares for each person holistically and provides the care and support they need.
Facing the end of life can be overwhelming and hard to understand. With my teaching experience I know how to break down medical terminology into easy-to-understand language. I have taught students who know nothing about nursing to students who know the basics. These skills help me meet families where they are as it relates to their situation. I communicate compassionately, seeing their humanity in all that I do. I am grateful to work for a company that exemplifies these values.
Nicky Haynes
Relationship Manager
nicky.haynes@pyxiscare.com Nicky Haynes
Relationship Manager
nicky.haynes@pyxiscare.com
“I find the greatest joy when I see a family so grateful after they receive the resources and support that PyxisCare offers. I make it my job to make sure they get what they need.”
–Nicky H.
When a family first calls PyxisCare Management for help, they will likely hear the clear, kind voice of PyxisCare’s Relationship Manager, Nicky H. We sat down with Nicky as she explained how she supports clients with their medical, environmental, financial, psycho-social, and legal needs.
Tell us about your role at PyxisCare . I serve as a liaison between the services our company provides and the client. When I chat with a family, I first listen and understand their needs. Sometimes families come to us in crisis, and they need emotional support in addition to the health-related services they receive. We are sometimes contacted for assistance with a less urgent need, such as planning for future healthcare decisions or making a long-term plan for living and estate planning. It’s my responsibility to ensure all their needs are met by the right expert on the team.
How does your position work with the rest of the PyxisCare team? After I meet with a family, I explain the full range of resources available to them, and then I collaborate with our team to tailor services for their specific situation. For example, do they need legal support or help managing a chronic illness? What benefits such as Medicare and disability are available? We offer benefits analysis, end-of-life care, psycho-social support, and much more. With my experience, I can assist parents seeking guardianship of their special needs child when they turn eighteen. PyxisCare offers holistic solutions to often complex situations.
Tell us a bit about your background and what lead to you to this position? I discovered my love for helping people when I was in the second grade and sat next to a girl with downs syndrome on the school bus. No one wanted to sit with her. But I did, and we developed a beautiful relationship that fueled me to advocate for people who struggle to advocate for themselves.
After graduating from high school, I earned triple degrees in speech pathology, audiology, and neuroscience. I became a speech pathologist right after college, working hands-on with individuals from birth to end-of-life. Later, I geared my skills to becoming a special needs teacher for kindergarteners through 12th graders. Helping families fills my heart and after the students graduated, I would stay in touch. My role as the Relationships Manager allows me to continue supporting families after a student turns 18 and their needs change. For example, do they need a special needs trust? What support services, such as housing, jobs and social activities are available to the individual? It’s rewarding to help a client navigate the complexity of caring for a special needs family member, but I find the greatest joy when I see a family so grateful after they receive the resources and support that PyxisCare offers. I make it my job to make sure they get what they need.
Angela W
Practice Lead
Angela W
Practice Lead
“Our work touches not only the client, but the whole family. We have the ability to positively affect an individual’s health, but also the well-being of everyone in their lives.” –Angela W., Practice Lead
My life experiences help me help others every day. I firmly believe that experience and compassion make the difference at PyxisCare.
I’ve been a registered nurse for over 12 years and am licensed in three states. As a nurse client advocate, I have to quickly build relationships and trust so I can best support client wishes. Through experiences at hospitals, geriatric dementia units, mental health facilities and hospice, it’s been easy to personally relate to any situation with a client.
I was blessed with a hearing-impaired child and have a special place in my heart for parents who are doing the best they can for children with challenges. It’s difficult for someone with no experience in benefits management and medical diagnosis to find their way. And that’s where I step in.
A few years ago, I lost my husband and my mother within months of one another. It was devastating, but that experience helped me deeply understand the challenges of navigating illness and our healthcare system. One of my specialties has become crisis intervention for families who are coping with significant and escalating life changes. I spend time at hospitals and facilities advocating for clients. It’s one of the most rewarding aspects of my job, to support a family though their toughest times.
Of course, the biggest difference is that you’re not providing direct care, but you’re influencing the full spectrum of their care. Especially with clients who are not in crisis but are proactive in their holistic wellness.
It’s my job to help people think about their next steps whether those steps are toward wellness or toward quality of life planning decisions. I like to think of myself as a “Healthcare Quarterback,” and I couldn’t have chosen a better way to help people.