Her foray into healthcare has been extraordinarily successful. Cinthia Nieves was recently appointed as chief operating officer/human resources director of ALC Hospice Care in Oak Brook. The Schaumburg resident, who has been with ALC since 2008, has worked her way up through the ranks in a field for which she’s developed a great passion.
While earning her degree in business management, Cinthia recalled stopping at a healthcare job fair to leave a resume with an HR recruiter on behalf of a friend. “The recruiter said, ‘well, how about you?’ and that’s how it started.” Cinthia worked in human resources for 11 years at a Chicago hospital and recognized that the industry was different than what she’d initially thought. “I was responsible for helping clinicians and staff grow within the organization. That was my starting ground, and it molded me moving forward,” she said. Cinthia earned her Master of Business Administration while developing extensive experience in human services and operational management while working at the hospital.
In 2008, a mutual acquaintance introduced Cinthia to Anthony (Tony) Siciliano, who had founded ALC Home Health Care two years earlier. “It was a smaller organization that he was planning to grow. He was looking for someone in a human resources role, something in which I was comfortable. It felt like a good fit,” she said. “Home health appealed to me. I liked the idea of taking care of seniors within their homes. I had learned about patients within the hospital system. ALC introduced me to the part of the journey that happens after they leave and go home, and there’s still more care that needs to be provided.”
Through the years, Cinthia has had expanding responsibilities, including regulatory compliance, operational performance, fiscal planning, marketing, and more. “We grew tremendously, and Tony continued to give me opportunities to grow within the organization. He has entrusted me with many different areas of business, which allowed me to have value.”
Most recently, she said, “Tony asked if I could do what I do best and take my management skills to ALC Hospice Care. I said, ‘okay’; I took on the challenge. Some of it was familiar because of home health, but a lot was very different, so there was a little bit of a learning curve.”
Cinthia said that the growth within hospice has primarily been a result of her phenomenal staff. Her team includes RNs, LPNs, hospice aides, and a psyche/social team, including a chaplain, music therapist and social worker. “The support they show to our patients, their families, and to one another is amazing. They just care so much. Our team is what makes us so strong. Our services and what we provide truly comes from the heart. We are always out there doing the absolute best we can.”
Cinthia is excited to be an integral part of ALC as it continues to grow. In order to close the gap in home health services to provide a complete continuum of care, ALC is now also offering ALC Primary Care@Home in addition to ALC Home Health Care and ALC Hospice Care. Assistenza Healthcare Management, the umbrella organization for ALC, is an integrated network of high-value and high-quality health professionals.