The Experience Behind DAWN

When Professional Expertise
Meets Personal Reality

For over 28 years as a Registered Nurse, I thought I understood caregiving. I'd worked across the entire healthcare continuum – from hospital to insurance companies, from pediatric oncology units to managing home care agencies. As a visiting nurse, I'd been in hundreds of homes, coordinating complex medical care while watching families struggle to navigate a system that often felt impossible to understand.

Then caregiving became personal.

The Personal Transformation

Everything changed when my mother came to live with us, requiring total 24/7 care through cancer treatments until her passing. Suddenly, I wasn't the professional on the other side of the clipboard – I was the exhausted daughter trying to coordinate multiple specialists, manage procedures and surgeries, navigate insurance denials, and maintain dignity for someone I loved while working full-time.

Today, I care for my 80-year-old aunt who lives five minutes away, dependent on oxygen 24/7 and needing assistance with daily tasks. Once again, I find myself coordinating complex medical care, managing appointments, and being the bridge between family and healthcare systems.

This dual experience – professional expertise combined with the raw, exhausting reality of family caregiving – led me to complete burnout. I understood caregiver fatigue professionally, but had never experienced it personally.

The Professional Foundation

Hospital Experience: Medical-Surgical, Cardiac, Hematology-Oncology units in New York and Washington DC, working with both adults and children facing life-altering diagnoses.

Home Care Expertise: Years as a visiting nurse throughout New York's five boroughs and Metro Georgia, providing skilled care while helping families manage complex medical needs in their homes.

Care Coordination: Served as discharge planner and transitional care nurse, bridging the gap between hospital and home – often the most vulnerable time for patients and families.

Insurance Industry: Management roles with three major insurance companies, understanding care authorization, coverage decisions, and the bureaucracy that families must navigate.

Care Management: Certified Case Manager specializing in chronic conditions including oncology, cardiology, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, heart failure, COPD, and complex wound care.

  • THE INTEGRATION

    That journey through burnout led me to discover something profound: the inner work I'd always been drawn to wasn't just nice-to-have self-care. It was essential medicine for healing from the inside out.

    I pursued additional certifications in:

    Functional Nutrition – addressing root causes rather than just managing symptoms

    Life Coaching & NLP – helping people tap into their full potential despite challenging circumstances

    Holistic Wellness Approaches – integrating mind, body, and spirit for sustainable healing

  • WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU

    I understand the medical complexities because I've managed them professionally for nearly three decades.

    I know the insurance maze because I've worked inside those companies making coverage decisions.

    I get the family dynamics because I've been the visiting nurse mediating between anxious relatives and medical teams.

    I feel the emotional overwhelm because I've lived it as a daughter, niece, and primary caregiver.

    I've found the way back to balance through both clinical knowledge and personal healing work.

My Approach Today

Through DAWN, I blend this comprehensive background into a unique approach that addresses both the practical and emotional aspects of caregiving:

  • Clinical expertise for managing complex medical situations

  • System navigation skills for insurance and healthcare bureaucracy

  • Care coordination experience for managing multiple providers

  • Personal understanding of caregiver burnout and recovery

  • Holistic healing methods for sustainable self-care

Dawn Winfield-Rivera RN, BSN, CCM

Ready to work together?

Whether you need help navigating healthcare systems, preventing caregiver burnout, or finding sustainable ways to care for others while caring for yourself, my unique combination of professional expertise and personal experience is here to support you.

Serving caregivers nationwide through virtual programs and Metro Georgia through in-person consultations

Enough about me.

I’m looking forward to learning more about you & partnering along your journey.

with Gratitude,

Dawn