Growing up in Peoria, Illinois, Moriah Johnson, APRN, was inspired to pursue a career in health care by the examples of the people who treated her mother, who was in and out of the hospital at the time.

"I admired the members of the health care team and wanted to pursue an education in nursing to learn more about disease processes and to be able to help others," Johnson said. "I want my patients to know that I genuinely care about them, and that I'm here to help them to best manage their condition."

When Johnson began her career, she jumped at the chance to work in the cardiac intensive care unit. The heart, in her opinion is complex and fascinating. She wanted to know more, leading her to graduate school to obtain her advanced practice degree.

"I furthered my education because I knew I wanted to continue working with patients with cardiovascular disease, and I wanted to expand my knowledge and become more involved in the decision making process for my patients," Johnson said.

She is married to a native of Chillicothe, Illinois, and the couple have two children who Johnson said, "keep me on my toes and give my life so much more meaning." She enjoys running outdoors as much as she can to stay healthy and relieve the stress from the day.