FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeannie Counce
Jeannie.Counce@NHIA.org
406-600-2649

Alexandria, VA (March 31, 2026)—The National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) is proud to announce that Melissa Leone, RN, BSN, FNHIA has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Gene Graves Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Gene Graves Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor that NHIA bestows on a member of the home and alternate site infusion profession who has dedicated significant time, energy, and resources to advocating on behalf of patients and the industry. The award was established in 2006, and is named after Gene Graves, a home infusion pioneer who was instrumental to the founding of NHIA in 1991.

Leone’s career in home infusion spans more than 35 years, beginning in 1990 as a per-diem home infusion nurse with Homedco, which later became Apria Healthcare, then merged with Coram and was purchased by CVS in 2014. She rose through the ranks before retiring as Executive Director of Nursing Operations at Coram/CVS Specialty Infusion Services.

As an early practitioner of home infusion, Leone focused her clinical energy on developing operational practices that enabled consistently safe care for patients in this new site of care. Much of her work at Apria and Coram involved codifying competency frameworks, developing best practices and visit standards to ensure that change management reached the front lines. At the national level, she played a pivotal role in ensuring home infusion was represented in the NIOSH Alert on Hazardous Drugs, served as a reviewer for the INS Standards through multiple updates, and contributed to the development of the INS Vascular Access Device Flushing guidelines.

A dedicated NHIA volunteer for more than 2 decades, Leone served on the Education Committee for 20 years—including 10 years as Committee Chair—helping shape clinical content, training modules, and the RN Essentials curricula that have elevated standards for infusion nurses nationwide. She also contributed numerous articles to INFUSION magazine, presented at conferences, and participated in advocacy events. She later served as Chair of the National Home Infusion Foundation (NHIF) after receiving the Foundation’s Lynn Giglione Women in Leadership Award in 2022.

When the COVID-19 pandemic demanded rapid action, Leone — widely known among colleagues as “the COVID Queen” — stepped up to lead Coram’s pandemic response. She provided company-wide weekly updates, secured personal protective equipment for field nurses, and worked with pharmaceutical companies to develop guidelines enabling specialty drugs previously restricted to clinic settings to be safely administered in the home.

Her peers say that Leone’s legacy is defined not only by the skilled nursing care she developed in practitioners but by her compassionate leadership and commitment to mentorship. She inspires colleagues to recognize their value, encourages nurses to take on stretch assignments, and has mentored many to grow as leaders. She championed programs like a nurse Preceptor Program and a job shadowing program. And, she developed a staff retention program to delve into factors affecting nurse job satisfaction and tenure, using insights to improve the work environment and reduce turnover. Under her leadership, many of her protégés have grown into strong clinical leaders, which only multiplies her impact.

“Melissa’s career reflects an extraordinary commitment to advancing the standards and practice of home infusion nursing,” said Connie Sullivan, NHIA CEO and President. “Guided by an unwavering dedication to quality and patient safety, she has helped shape and strengthen the profession through her leadership and service. Her influence will continue to benefit patients, nurses, and the home infusion profession for years to come.”

“I am honored to have been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Gene Graves Award and have been in awe of the contributions made by previous recipients. Home Infusion has been a passion of mine since I first started seeing patients 35 years ago for the limited types of therapies we were able to provide at the time,” said Leone. “NHIA has successfully provided the support and resources we all need to expand patient offerings and succeed in the alternate site of care. They have adapted to changes to support the safe provision of new drugs, therapies, and industry needs. I have long appreciated the value of our relationship and it has been my pleasure to contribute whatever I could to further meet those goals.”

Leone will receive the award during NHIA’s 2026 Annual Conference, at the General Session on Monday, April 20 at 8:00 am Mountain Standard Time.

###

NHIA is a trade association representing companies that provide infusion therapy to patients in their homes and companies that manufacture and supply infusion and specialty pharmacy products. Infusion therapy involves patient-specific compounded medications, supplies, and a range of pharmacy, nursing, and other clinical services for delivering care to patients in the home setting. For more information, visit www.nhia.org.