Meagan Andrews, RN, Loves the Flexibility of Home Care Nursing

What do you do if you love your job and you want to spend more time watching your children grow up? If you’re Meagan Andrews, RN, 36, you become a home care nurse.

In January 2022, Andrews began working at Lehigh Valley Health Network’s (LVHN) Regional Heart Center–Medical as a nurse. “I truly loved it,” she says. But raising three young children as a single mom meant she needed more flexibility in her day-to-day schedule.

“When I first became a nurse, I didn’t realize what 12-hour shifts were going to mean for my family,” she says. “I have two kids who were starting elementary school. My mom was dropping them off at the bus and picking them up and she got to hear how great their day was. I wanted to be that person.”

Her dilemma came to an end when she discovered home care nursing through a friend and fellow nurse. After one year in the Regional Heart Center, Andrews joined Lehigh Valley Home Care–Allentown.

“I never thought about home care as an option,” she says. “I loved being a cardiac nurse. It just wasn’t a fit for my family right now. It’s so important to spend time with your children. Family time is fun time.”

Andrews starts seeing patients after she gets her kids on the school bus at 9 a.m. and is done visiting patients before she picks her kids up at the end of the school day. With one child in high school and two in elementary school, she can be more involved in their after-school activities.

“I work in Bethlehem, I live in Bethlehem, and my kids all go to school in Bethlehem,” Andrews says. “I feel I now have a great work-life balance. My children are my priority and so is my job. With home care I have a really great work-life balance.”

Andrews began her career at LVHN in 2014 as a patient service representative. She started at LVPG Orthopedics and Sports Medicine–1250 Cedar Crest. While working there, Andrews had two children, one in 2015 and one in 2016. She then moved to LVPG Orthopedics and Sports Medicine–Bethlehem to be closer to her home. Soon after, she recognized a spark inside for nursing.

“I just wanted more. I was a receptionist and wanted to be more involved with patient care. I wanted to make more money and I wanted to be more hands-on with people,” she says.

After taking a part-time position at LVPG Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery–Muhlenberg, she took advantage of LVHN’s tuition reimbursement program and enrolled at Northampton Community College. She graduated with her nursing degree in 2021.  

While Andrews never planned to become a home care nurse, the independence she now enjoys has worked out well for her. For instance, her car-turned-office is where she communicates throughout the day with other nurses who are just a phone call or text away.

“It’s an awesome department. It’s a hidden gem,” she says.