Carissa Pohan
Carissa Pohan is a seasoned healthcare leader with nearly a decade of experience in home health care, currently serving as Director of Operations at BAYADA Home Health Care in North Jersey. She oversees both adult and pediatric clients, ensuring the highest quality of care while supporting and developing the clinicians who deliver it. Carissa’s leadership philosophy centers on building high-performing teams, fostering collaboration, and creating a culture of accountability and growth.
Her career began through an Associate Leadership Development Program at BAYADA, progressing from client service manager to director-level leadership. Over the years, she has focused on expanding pediatric home care services in New York City and combining office operations in North Jersey to improve continuity of care. Carissa is known for translating complex operational challenges into actionable strategies, driving operational and financial success, and mentoring her teams to achieve excellence.
A graduate of University of Connecticut with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Carissa brings a strong foundation in human behavior to her leadership approach. Beyond her professional responsibilities, she serves as a mentor within BAYADA and participates in community initiatives, including fundraising for the Christopher Reeve Foundation, ALS events, and breast cancer awareness. Her dedication to both patients and professionals has earned her recognition, including being selected for Influential Women in 2026.
• CPR Certified
• University of Connecticut- B.A.
• Christopher Reeve Foundation
• ALS Foundation
• Breast Cancer Walks
• Fundraising rides for healthcare causes
What do you attribute your success to?
I think it's because I'm very transparent. In the past, I would try to shield people from hard truths because nobody likes to deliver bad news, but flipping my mindset on that and bringing people in on the solution, being more collaborative in my approach, is what really helped me become a better leader long-term. I have a personality that can be very Type A, and I want to do everything myself, but it's not realistic long-term, and I don't think the people I lead would appreciate that. People like to be included in decisions that could potentially affect their work, our office, or whatever it might be. Having that transparency has really made the people I lead trust me, and they understand the reasons I'm making decisions, rather than it's just because I said so.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
A lot of the women I work with are very humble. They work quietly, they get their job done, they excel at their job, but they get very uncomfortable having a spotlight shined on them. I try to get them out of that mindset and have them step into their power a little bit more, because I feel that they must talk about their accomplishments, and they must take credit for their processes and practices that they have put in place that has really pushed the company forward. I see that a lot with my male counterparts, but I don't see that a lot with my female counterparts. I'm very passionate about this because the women in leadership are more humble about their accomplishments, and then you might see others be very loud and vocal about it. We know that if you are not vocal about these things, sometimes they do go overlooked. I don't want any of these top performers to be overlooked because they're more on the quiet side and more humble about their accomplishments.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges in my field include building high-performing teams amid turnover, expanding pediatric home-care services in primarily adult markets, and managing the emotional demands of healthcare leadership, while opportunities lie in recognizing and promoting top performers and creating sustainable support systems for staff and leaders.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
At Bayada, our three core values are compassion, excellence, and reliability, and it's something that has just really shaped me in my adult life. I think that a lot of the lessons that I have learned in my professional life have only made me be a better friend, partner, and family member in my personal life. A lot of hard lessons learned, whether it be communication, making sure you're seeing other people's perspective, meeting people where they're at. I think that these are important life lessons that my career has taught me that have been invaluable in my interpersonal relationships. When you're dealing with people, you're always living in the gray area.