Lovecy Binoy had toyed with the idea of coming to the U.S. to work, but she knew there was no turning back once she boarded her flight.

Lovecy took the proverbial leap of faith and boarded anyway. But the 28-year-old RN from Shimoga, India started falling apart as the plane taxied down the runway.

"I cried and cried and cried," says Lovecy. "I started crying even before I left India, when I started packing my bags two days earlier."

Her mother and sisters were equally distraught. They never dreamed Lovecy would leave her comfortable surroundings for the uncertainties of working in America.

But Lovecy, who was also a seasoned clinical instructor back in India, wanted professional growth and new challenges. That meant coming stateside, where hospitals and equipment are often more advanced.

Thus began Lovecy’s improbable journey to becoming Highsmith-Rainey Specialty Hospital’s first R.N. recruit from India.

Lovecy was staying with in-laws last year in Maryland when she got a call from the nursing agency that recruited her to the U.S. Her agency contact said a health system in North Carolina wanted to interview her. The health system was Cape Fear Valley.

Lovecy nervously agreed to interview.

Shanti Paramanandam, Patient Care Manager with Cape Fear Valley Rehabilitation Center, learned of Lovecy through a personal friend at Lovecy’s agency.

Using her knowledge of Indian universities, Paramanandam knew Lovecy would be a good nursing candidate. She forwarded Lovecy’s resume, as well as several other Indian nurse resumes from the same agency, to Cape Fear Valley nursing managers.

Highsmith-Rainey managers jumped at the chance to hire some of the nurses as Long Term Acute Care (LTAC) staff. Pam Pollock, Director of Nursing at Highsmith-Rainey, says LTAC nurses are hard to find because they have to provide more specialized care for the often-complex needs of LTAC patients.

After a round of telephone interviews, Lovecy emerged as a leading candidate because of her experience and strong desire to work in the U.S., as well as her compassionate attitude toward patients.

"After we spoke with her by phone, we realized she had a lot of the skills we were looking for," says Pam.

Following an on-site group interview, Lovecy was signed to a two-year contract to work as a Long Term Acute Care nurse at Highsmith-Rainey. She started work January 9.

Signing the contract was easy. Settling in to new surroundings proved harder.

Lovecy felt homesick immediately after arriving in North Carolina and often called home to India – sometimes two or three times a week – for long, soul-searching conversations.

She has since overcome her homesickness and has adjusted well to her new surroundings. Shanti helped by taking Lovecy under her wing until the new hire could get acclimated.

"There is so much we take for granted once you come to a new country," says Shanti, who is also Indian.

When Lovecy isn’t learning the peculiarities of American life, she’s working the night shift at Highsmith-Rainey. It has quieter hours and allows her to watch her four-year-old son during the day when her husband is working.

Asked to compare nursing in India to America, Lovecy says the biggest difference is that Indian nurses typically work five or six days a week and must tend to all patients. At Highsmith-Rainey, Lovecy works just three days a week with just a handful of patients.

Lovecy isn’t the only nurse from India to recently join the staff. Nickey Jacob has also been hired to work at Highsmith-Rainey’s LTAC unit.

Nickey says a similar desire for professional growth led her to the U.S. Unlike Lovecy, however, Nickey didn’t have any second thoughts when boarding her flight to America.

"I was looking very forward to it," says Nickey, 32. "I don’t regret leaving India."

Nickey was originally a nurse in India’s Army before retiring as a captain. She then went to work for a hospital in her hometown of Kerala, India, before packing her bags for the U.S.

Nickey says she loves everything about her new country, especially "shopping and McDonalds," and wants to stay here for several more years. She has adjusted to American nursing with equal aplomb and has since been named a charge nurse at Highsmith-Rainey.

Nursing managers have been so impressed with Lovecy and Nickey that they would like to recruit more nurses from India.

"They’re moving halfway across the world and taking up a whole new life," says Jean Harrison, Director of Workforce Development. "I admire them very much for it."