After spending time with a relative with a mental illness, Dani Milliken knew as early as age 6 that she wanted to help people who struggle with mental illness when she grew up.
“From that point on, I dreamed of working as a psychiatric nurse,” Dani says. “I am so fortunate that I get to come to work every day and love what I do. My passion in life is psychiatric nursing; it always has been and it always will be.”
Dani will put that passion – as well as a wealth of experience in establishing a pediatric inpatient mental health unit – to good use as clinical director of the CHOC Mental Health Inpatient Center, set to open next spring.
“The community is in need, and CHOC is stepping up to the plate in a big way,” she says. “I have been impressed with everyone’s commitment to developing a safe environment that patients, families and staff feel proud of.”
Before joining CHOC in June, Dani helped design and operationalize a pediatric inpatient mental health unit at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Previously, she spent four years at Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare, a state-owned and -operated inpatient psychiatric hospital in Ohio. There for four years, she served in a variety of roles, most recently as assistant director of nursing.
Dani hopes her work at CHOC will set the standard of care for psychiatric nursing across the country, as well as help remove a stigma that persists around patients with mental illness and the clinicians who treat them.
“Unfortunately, there can be incredible amounts of stigma surrounding not only the patients on an inpatient psychiatric unit, but also the staff that works there,” she says. “I look forward to teaching everyone about quality psychiatric treatment, and what it means to be a real psychiatric nurse.”
Dani earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Mount Carmel College of Nursing, and went on to receive her master’s degree in nursing administration. She is currently working toward a doctorate in health care administration.
Though much of her free time is spent getting settled in Orange County after a cross-country move, Dani looks forward to hiking and biking with her husband and dog, as well as quilting and sewing.
In her short time at CHOC, Dani already has been impressed with the culture of collaboration, accountability and respect.
“I am inspired at the amount of teamwork, collaboration and respect that I have encountered during meetings with various disciplines,” she says. “All of these things speak loudly about the level of quality care being delivered to patients here at CHOC. I am thrilled to be a part of this amazing team!”
Upon its opening, CHOC Mental Health Inpatient Center will be the first pediatric inpatient mental health center in Orange County to accommodate children younger than 12.
With 18 private rooms in a secure and healing environment, the center will provide a safe, nurturing place for children ages 3 to 18, and specialty programming for children younger than 12.
The center is the cornerstone of CHOC’s efforts to create a pediatric system of care for children, teens and young adults in Orange County with mental illness. One in five children – about 150,000 in Orange County – will experience a diagnosable mental health problem.
Learn more about CHOC’s efforts to help children with mental illness.
