B E H A V E Wellness

Although we can be reached individually at Shannon, Gina, or Nick @behavewellness.com, the consultants at BEHAVE Wellness also consist of several corporate and professional affiliates with a wide array of specialties and skill sets, including our holistic psychiatry and ketamine clinic Ascend Health Center in Akron, Ohio and Shannon Spies Yoga in Wabasha, Minnesota. We’ve also worked with Mint, Monster, American Nurses Association, and similar organizations.

Shannon Spies DNP, CRNA, APRN, RYT500(c) is a published author (Shannon Ingersoll), speaker, Yandara school certified yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner, and nurse anesthetist who has practiced in a variety of healthcare organizations for 14 years and has been exposed to different healthcare work cultures. Before achieving her Masters of Science in Anesthesia from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Shannon received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Winona State University. She started out her nursing career at Mayo Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota.  Besides being an author and practitioner, Shannon is an educator and mentor. Educating diverse students and colleagues throughout her career, she also taught for the only doctoral prepared nurse anesthesia program in the state of Minnesota, The University of Minnesota VA Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Program. Shannon received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul. Her doctoral work has led to innovative wellness paths in nursing. She has presented her published work on Caring/Healing Modalities in Nurse-Patient Interactions through oral and poster presentations throughout the Midwest. Publishing her work through various textbooks has included Holistic Nursing; A Handbook for Practice, a core curriculum, and international research. Shannon also has worked as a national public speaker for PESI HealthCare. She has presented the topic, Care of the Perianesthesia Patient and discussed “new” topics including Alternative (Wellness) Healthcare and Workplace Cultures. Shannon did national training at Workplace Bullying University (WBI) in Bellingham, WA spring 2014 with Dr. Gary and Dr. Ruth Namie. After the training, Shannon realized the need for awareness, importance of resources, and change in workplaces. The vision of being of service and a “voice” inspired the creation of BEHAVE Wellness. Shannon enjoys engaging, energizing and empowering her audiences with her presentations and personal experiences. Shannon’s dedication and passion for her practice, profession and others continue with her ongoing research addressing present changes in workplace cultures and introducing well-being into systems. Her educational focus is in different workplaces as she believes there is a need to address issues on bullying and wellness throughout diverse environments including healthcare. Shannon’s journey has led to this path and through her experiences, she has found individuals are silently calling out for help.

Gina Chiplonia-Swircek DNP, CRNA, PhD (c) comes to BEHAVE Wellness with an extensive background in healthcare research, education and clinical excellence. Upon receiving her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 2006 and becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, she was an active duty United States Air Force (USAF) officer from 2006-2009. In this role she received both leadership and clinical training skills that enabled her to practice autonomously as a CRNA while also having additional administrative responsibilities. These responsibilities included acting as anesthesia department quality assurance monitor, preceptor and liaison for Old Dominion Nurse Anesthesia school and students, and departmental staff scheduler. In this role she received a distinguished award from the group commander for critical clinical decisions in an emergent situation that ultimately resulted in a life saving positive outcome for the patient.Upon completing her active duty commitment in the USAF in 2009, she entered civilian life ready to pursue doctoral education. In 2012 she completed her clinical Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Robert Morris University (RMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While at RMU she was awarded the Alvin J. Rogal Jewish Healthcare Foundation Doctoral Fellowship Research Award in the amount of $10,000 as well as the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) Kay Wagner doctoral fellowship award in the amount of $5000 for her capstone project, “Perioperative Identification of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome.” She has presented her research at numerous universities and conferences throughout Pennsylvania. While in the Air Force and at RMU, she developed a strong passion for education of both students and the community. In 2013 she began a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program in Nursing Education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where she is extensively researching and currently in the late stages of her dissertation on the topic of preceptor bullying of nurse anesthesia students. Her passion for this topic comes from having colleagues and students she precepts open up to her about these negative experiences and extends out into the workplace where this type of behavior is also occurring and takes a serious toll on health, wellness and livelihood. Currently, Gina is employed by a private practice anesthesia group in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She also provides anesthesia services as an independent contractor for an endoscopy center and several hospitals in Northeast Pennsylvania where she resides with her husband, John, and two young boys.

 Nick Angelis MSN, CRNA is the author of multiple books and regularly writes or presents continuing education articles on a variety of dry and dreary medical, nursing, and corporate wellness topics. Thankfully, he prefers to lecture and write relevant and fascinating information about healthcare culture and how to improve it for employees and patients. At last count he has contributed to over 100 works of fiction, non-fiction, and satire closely resembling non-fiction. Nick graduated with a BSN from Youngstown State University before working in the Cardiothoracic ICU at Cleveland Clinic, where he received numerous awards and served on the Intergenerational Nursing Committee. Following a stint couch surfing as a nurse hobo absorbing the culture and practices of thirty different healthcare facilities in multiple specialties, he graduated from the University of Akron in 2010 to become a nurse anesthetist. He witnessed first hand how the environment at different workplaces and clinical sites directly affected safety, productivity, and the capacity to learn and improve practice. Nick came to BEHAVE Wellness as the co-owner of an alternative medicine company specializing in holistic health education and consults, and currently serves as the owner of Ascend Health Center. Besides leading a local writing group and performing improv with First City Shakespeare, Nick works as a nurse anesthetist in Northeast Ohio and the Florida Panhandle. He enjoys directing movies and plays, alternative investments, and playing several sports poorly. The above link to his Linked-In profile is more interesting than his slovenly excuse for a YouTube, but not nearly as captivating as his Twitter or Instagram.