Janice Cowan is the program manager of the Innovations and Neurobehavioral Center at UofL Health – Peace Hospital.
How long have you been with Peace Hospital?
I’ve been with the hospital for 17 years. I came here to complete my graduate internship that was supposed to last only a semester. Just as that ended, a behavior analyst position became available. I applied, got the job and stayed in that role until October of last year when I moved into my current role as program manager.
Tell us about your role and the kind of patients you see.
I lead our team of behavior analysts, intervention specialists, program coordinators, occupational therapist and speech language pathologist. Our patients have a diagnosed intellectual or developmental disability and come to get help with problem behaviors like aggression or self-injury. We work with parents, caregivers and schools to identify the concerns, and then work with our treatment team to develop the best treatment plan. Our goal is to teach our patients the skills they need to live as independently as possible.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
My team intervenes during all the crisis situations on our units so there can be physical dangers involved. But I have an awesome team. You have to love this work to be here. We have such compassionate employees who care about our patients.
What is the most rewarding?
To see our team excited about new and different ways to help our patients; and to help our patients succeed!
What are you most excited about being part of UofL Health?
I believe we’ll have more access to resources, programs, opportunities – and students – who could be potential employees. That is very exciting!
What do you love most about your job?
For me it is seeing even the smallest changes with our patients, and what we can do for them and their families. I also enjoy working with our staff. It takes a special kind of person to do the work we do! I never imagined 17 years ago that I would end up here but everything aligned to make it happen.
