The Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) mourns the passing of Dr. Michelle Camicia, PhD RN CRRN CCM NEA-BC FARN FAHA FAAN, a transformational leader, visionary, and advocate whose career spanned more than 30 years in rehabilitation nursing. Michelle's unwavering commitment to advancing practice, research, and policy profoundly shaped care coordination and equitable care for individuals with disabilities (IWD) and their caregivers.
A Transformational Leader in Rehabilitation Nursing
National and Global Impact
Michelle's impact was far-reaching. As an advisory board member of the NIH National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR), she secured family caregiving as a priority in the Center's Strategic Plan. She served on numerous national boards and expert panels, worked as an international accreditation surveyor for CARF International, and held leadership roles with both the American Heart Association (AHA) and ARN, including serving as ARN President. Through these roles, she championed equitable care delivery regionally, nationally, and globally.
Scholar, Educator, and Award-Winning Advocate
A prolific scholar and educator, Michelle authored policy papers, peer-reviewed manuscripts, and book chapters, and her work on the PATH-s model earned the AHA/ASA Stroke Article of the Year (2020). She co-authored the ARN White Paper The Essential Role of the Rehabilitation Nurse in Facilitating Care Transition, which received ARN's Article of the Year (2014). Her many honors include becoming a Fellow of ARN (2019), the Kaiser Permanente Exemplary Nurse Leader of the Year (2020), ARN President's Award (2020), Distinguished Service Award (2012), and Doctoral-Prepared Nurse Researcher Award (2020). In addition to these honors, Michelle was also a Fellow of the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Nursing, one of nursing's highest honors.
Continuing Her Legacy: The ARN Family Caregiver Resource Center
In 2024, Michelle's lifelong advocacy for caregivers took on new form through the ARN Family Caregiver Resource Center initiative - an effort she championed to ensure caregivers have access to current, evidence-based education and support. Funded through the Rehabilitation Nurse Foundation (RNF), the ARN Caregiver Resource Development Grant invites innovative proposals to develop educational modules for family caregivers during inpatient rehabilitation or skilled nursing care. These resources will live on the ARN website as a lasting, accessible hub for families navigating the challenges of caring for loved ones with disabling conditions.
Longtime friend and colleague Dr. Barbara Lutz, PhD RN CRRN PHNA-BC FAHA FAAN, recalls Michelle's unwavering dedication: "Michelle was deeply committed to improving the lives of rehabilitation patients and their family caregivers. With unwavering passion, she dedicated herself to developing meaningful interventions that identified and addressed the unmet needs of caregivers - often the unsung heroes of recovery. She envisioned the ARN Caregiver Resource Development Grant to carry this mission forward, ensuring that caregivers receive the education and support they deserve."
A Lasting Influence
Michelle's legacy lives on in the nurses she inspired, the policies she shaped, the research she advanced, and the caregivers she championed. Her work will continue to guide and strengthen the rehabilitation nursing community for years to come.
The Caregiver Resource Development Grant will open on September 1.