My deep love of caring for people comes from my personal experiences caring for my baby sister Karen. Karen was born with an unknown diagnosis when I was 14 years old. Her medical condition was later named Costello’s, a rare genetic syndrome. Karen’s physicians had never seen someone physically like her and could not tell my parents a prognosis. When she was a tiny infant, my mother and I took turns in the hospital with Karen to provide continuity of care, explaining her unique health conditions. My family became dedicated to providing the best care for Karen in our home. I spent hours after school performing the home exercise program developed by physical, occupational, and speech therapists to strengthen and teach her. I understand the physical, mental, emotional, and social stressors that come from being a caregiver, as my parents have continued to provide Karen with the best care and the highest quality of life for over 42 years.

After graduating from the University of Utah in 1991, I have dedicated my life’s mission to leading forward-thinking healthcare organizations to deliver personalized quality care to patients. In 2010, after spending many years in various healthcare organizations, Aspire Home Health and Hospice became my home. This is where my life’s purpose of creating a system of highly reliable health care has been fully realized.

Aspire has transformed my life. When I think of Aspire, I feel empowered with a sense of Team! I feel such a flow of energy that brings positive thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs, which help me feel like I can make a difference in someone’s life. My passion for caring for people comes from my childhood experience with my dad’s traumatic brain injury, which resulted from a car accident. That injury put him in a coma for over six weeks. He had to learn to walk, talk, eat, etc., all over again. His memories were sparse, and he had to find out that he instantly had six kids when we visited. I am the oldest daughter, so I took responsibility for my younger sisters and ensured they were cared for when my mom was watching out for my dad. My desire to become a nurse grew when I visited my dad in the hospital and during his rehabilitation. I saw how many people needed help. I even wrote a paper in second grade on how I would help all the people with cancer.

I grew up in Davis County, Utah, and received my Nursing Degree from Weber State University. I have worked in many aspects of nursing, including home health and hospice (26 years), a surgical center, a mom-and-baby unit, a skilled nursing facility, and a med-surge floor for 28 years. Aspire Home Health and Hospice has been my home since 2010, as the Director of Nursing for 11 years, and I am now the Chief Operations Officer. I feel it an honor and privilege to fulfill my life’s purpose at Aspire in building a team that is recommended to our community by so many because of the beautifully orchestrated care they experience.

I received a bachelor’s degree from Southern Utah State College in 1982 and have worked as an accountant for over 40 years in a variety of industries. I began my career in the public accounting arena and was a tax accountant and a public auditor for 3 years. I have worked in the healthcare industry for over 24 years and have experience working with a healthcare trade association, a primary care agency, a SNF organization, a multi-specialty clinic, and a home health & hospice agency.
I have been told that many college graduates don’t stay in their chosen field of practice for very long, but I have really enjoyed being an accountant. The single best example of why I like accounting is because it is instant gratification. After struggling with an out-of-balance account and then suddenly I see the answer and the account balances to the penny the overwhelming joy of completing the task can’t be matched in any other way!
This same feeling of joy and belonging is felt by me and several others here at Aspire. My appreciation for the Vision and Mission of Aspire is indeed awe-inspiring! To be a positive influence on humanity and provide care to others in the Aspire Way is phenomenal. I have experienced this feeling from both an employee perspective as well as a family member of an Aspire patient. What a blessing it has been for me and my family to be associated with Aspire Home Health & Hospice!

My name is Valerie Billman. I am a Registered Nurse and the current Director of Nursing for Aspire Home Health. I was born and raised in Rigby, Idaho, and currently reside in South Jordan, Utah. My nursing education started at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho with completion at Denver School of Nursing in Denver, Colorado. My experience consists of assisting patients in skilled nursing facilities, home health, and hospice. I have enjoyed working in home health as it has allowed me the opportunity to empower my patients with education and the knowledge to be successful. Building relationships and trust with my patients and their families has been the ultimate fulfillment of my nursing career.

I got my BSN from the University of Utah and have been a hospice nurse for the last 8 years. I began my nursing career in the ER but found it difficult to connect with patients on a profound level, due to the expeditious nature of the hospital setting. Hospice has allowed me the capacity to slow down and meet patients and families where they are and in their own space. This career has been among the most humbling opportunities of my life and provided me with the room to grow not only as a clinician, but a human as well. Death is a commonality among all of us, and I believe we can all find strength in shared experiences. Hospice provides us the ability to create a space of reverence around those whom we serve, and this is why I continue to do what I do.

My name is Phil Arnold, and I am the Director of Therapy for Aspire Home Health. After graduating with a master’s in physical therapy in 2000 I began working in an outpatient clinic. Fortunately, I received an invitation to do some part-time work in Home Care and found my niche. I love working in Home Care. I enjoy the opportunity to build a personal relationship with my patients and their families by serving them in their own environment. It is important to me to help my patients reach their highest potential possible and improve their quality of life.

My nursing career started as a CNA, and then I received my nursing degree from Ricks College in Rexburg Idaho. My first RN job was in the Womens Surgical Unit at Cottonwood Hospital, and I loved it! I learned from many great nurses there. After working nights for a few years, I got a job at the Salt Lake Clinic for the Rheumatologist, working in his practice and in the infusion clinic. It was there that I developed a love for the senior population. My husband and I moved our twins to Colorado in 2004 and I briefly worked again on a surgical unit before going into a temporary retirement after my second set of twins were born. I was able to stay home with my 4 boys for 9 years. After living in Minnesota and then moving back to Utah, I entered back into the workforce as an insulin nurse with the school district very part time. In 2014 my cousin convinced me to come and work for him in Home Health. It was a good fit for me and I loved the flexibility. In the Spring of 2018 I moved to Aspire Home Health and became a case manager. I loved working with patients in their own environments and really getting to know them and their families! In October of 2021 I took a position as the Home Health Nurse Educator. I love being a member of the management team at Aspire and have grown so much rubbing shoulders with amazing leaders and clinicians.

I have always had a lifelong passion for learning and sharing the knowledge I obtain. Luckily, I found a career that complimented my passion and focused on making a difference. I graduated from Fortis College's nursing program several years ago. I went on to specialize in post-anesthesia care, pain service, and perioperative care, spending my first several years with Intermountain Healthcare in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). With my love of travel and my passion to teach and learn, I caught the travel nurse bug and, while furthering my education, spent the next couple of years traveling to other states and hospital systems working in surgery creating processes and training PACU staff. I received my bachelor's degree from Western Governors University, with the goal in mind of going on to receive a master's degree and becoming a nursing professor. That all changed when I found my new passion… Hospice. It sounds crazy. ``Who would ever want to do that??`` <'(ツ)`> This guy!! Hospice is a career rooted in teaching, sharing, and helping patients and their families through the most difficult time in their life. Aspire takes this to the next level. With my position, I am able to create and improve hospice systems, processes, and policies with education as my centerpiece. I view myself as being in the people development business, with proper training, everything else falls into place.

My job is to boost morale in the office and make sure our employees get all the love they need so they can give our patients the love they need! In return, they give me treats and belly rubs. Win-win!