Editor’s Note: McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care are profiling the McKnight’s 2022 Women of Distinction honorees daily July 5 through Aug. 10. For additional McKnight’s Women of Distinction content, visit this page.

Shortly after the world shut down in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Holly Artkamp Romie found out she was pregnant.

Navigating the logistical difficulties of caring for the elderly during the early days of the pandemic was stressful enough. To do it while also carrying a child was even tougher. 

Romie, however, continued to care for her residents.

“The entire time, Holly was confident, pursuing every bit of information in an effort to provide a safe environment in our facility,” said Graceworks Lutheran Services’ Clinical Informatics and MDS Facility Coordinator Jenita Sullenger. 

Providing a safe environment for her facility continues to be Romie’s modus operandi. Under her supervision as chief nursing officer at Graceworks’ Bethany Village in Dayton, OH, the facility has successfully completed six state infection control inspections while receiving zero deficiencies.

Prior to her current position, Romie was the director of rehabilitation services at Bethany Village. In this role, she was responsible for managing all aspects of the facility’s skilled nursing unit, a unit that often admits more than 600 residents each year. With so many residents to care for, Romie made sure all of the nurses were on the same page.

“She created a strong sense of team, empowering the nurses to feel competent to care for the higher [needs] we tend to see now,” Sullenger said.

She also collaborated with co-workers to create protocols focused on education in rehab to prevent rehospitalizations. As a result of those protocols, the unit saw an almost 8% decrease in readmissions in fewer than two years. 

Romie strives to make those around her as comfortable as possible.

“She is constantly looking for ways to make life better for employees,” Sullenger said.

“When Holly is listening to a family or employee verbalize a concern, her compassion is noticeable in the way she responds.”

The McKnight’s Women of Distinction program is jointly administered by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care. The program’s Diamond sponsor is PointClickCare. Silver sponsors include OnShift and PharMerica, and the Bronze sponsor is Reliant Rehabilitation. Table sponsors included Dreamscape, Gojo/Purell and Sound Physicians.