After 13 years with Indiana’s Department of Child Services, Naomi Boone found her home at Riley.
Riley Children’s Health social worker Naomi Boone vividly recalls the significance of finding a Band-Aid that matched her skin tone.
"I bought boxes upon boxes," she said, reflecting upon that impactful moment in her recent history.
February is Black History Month, a time intended to celebrate the stories and culture of Black people in America.
“Black history is not about just 28 days. Black history is real, it's a lifetime,” she said. “It happened … no matter what the books or laws or people say. History is history.”
Boone’s history began in Gary, Indiana, as the middle child of three siblings who adored her grandparents.
“A grandmother's love is what I was raised on, and it put me where I am today; my grandparents are my heartbeat for sure."
She went to college in Evansville, a world away from Gary, she said, then decided to split the difference and make her home in Indianapolis, where she lives with her tiny dog, Eva Ann. She worked 13 years for the Indiana Department of Child Services, before coming to Riley in 2020.
Boone said she didn’t see a lot of diversity, especially in leadership positions at Riley. When she started this job, it was May 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. She saw an opportunity to make an impact.
“Everything that was happening in the world led me to starting our first Riley employee resource group within our department,” she said. “I, along with other people, needed a safe place to process the things that were happening in the world. Because the world doesn't stop in between these Riley walls.”
Now primarily working with patients, families and team members in the pediatric intensive care and burn units, she believes she has found her home at Riley.
“My primary focus at DCS was protecting children … coming to Riley my primary focus is patients and families and more supportive crisis intervention.”
Two different roles but with the same goal of caring for and protecting kids and families, she said. Throw a pandemic in there, where you are dealing with a lot of death and grief, and it takes it to another level, but she has zero regrets.
“Through my experience, I’m blessed to say I think I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. It is my purpose, and although sometimes it’s heavy, it doesn’t feel like work.”
One thing that makes it easier is the spirit of collaboration on the Riley team, she said.
“I thought there might be this hierarchy of doctors and nurses and they would tag in social work when they needed us, but I feel very much a part of the team,” Boone said. “They rely heavily on my recommendations and/or opinions. And when we as team members are struggling, we offer safe spaces for each other, and it means the world to me.
“I had heard about all the good things at Riley, and I came here and drank the Kool-Aid,” she added. “I absolutely love Riley. We are a true team.”
Boone, an IU Health Emerging Leader and Sher Lee Sommers Leadership Fellow, is a self-described change agent who always knew she wanted to help children.
“I run toward the risk, and I run toward the danger and the trauma. I am comfortable being uncomfortable. I thrive in crisis intervention,” she said.
“In all things, I think I lead with compassion. I have to remind myself I'm a little black girl from Gary, Indiana. I'm not far removed from being a patient or being a family member of a patient. I always have this concept of it could have been me and it still could be me.”
In her professional and personal life, she is guided by the belief that people are human first, “and we should listen and respond without judging. It takes nothing to lead with kindness and it goes a long way.”
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