People on the Move · Healthcare · Nursing
Specialty Infusion and Clinical Education
Jaleh “Jaye” Saghafi, BSN, RN
Based in: Amherst, Ohio
Practice: Oberlin Ketamine Clinic, Oberlin, Ohio
Previously: Infection Control Leadership Team and PACU, Avon Surgery Center
Education: BSN, Indiana Wesleyan University. ADN, Cuyahoga Community College
Certifications: ACLS, BLS, PALS. Pharmaceutical Sales Certification (PSC)
Website: jalehsaghafi.com
Jaleh “Jaye” Saghafi, BSN, RN, a registered nurse from Amherst, Ohio, has moved into specialty infusion nursing and clinical education at Oberlin Ketamine Clinic in Oberlin. She joined the clinic in 2025 after serving on the infection control leadership team and in the post-anesthesia care unit at Avon Surgery Center.
The move adds a new setting to a nursing career that began in 1996 and has included seven years in the Cardiovascular ICU and transplant unit at Cleveland Clinic, charge nursing in a 26-bed trauma and surgical ICU, and surgical, emergency and perioperative care at hospitals across Northeast Ohio.
The New Role
At Oberlin Ketamine Clinic, Saghafi manages nursing care for about 20 patients each week under physician direction. She administers prescribed infusion therapy, monitors each patient’s response, tolerability and safety during treatment, and reports clinical findings and treatment response to the clinic’s supervising emergency medicine physician.
Education is a large part of the job. Saghafi explains medication information to patients in plain terms, so they understand what to expect before, during and after a session. She has also supported the clinic’s community outreach at Oberlin College, which brought 10 student volunteers into upcoming mental health research.
Why the Move Fits
Infusion care in an outpatient clinic depends on two skills: watching closely for changes in a patient’s condition, and explaining treatment clearly. Saghafi’s career has been built on both.
Close monitoring was the core of her critical care years. At Cleveland Clinic she cared for heart and transplant patients on advanced technology, including intra-aortic balloon pumps and ventricular assist devices, where small changes in blood pressure or heart rhythm call for quick action. As a charge nurse at Mt. Sinai Hospital in East Cleveland, she coordinated staffing and priorities for a 26-bed trauma and surgical ICU and responded when patients’ conditions changed. She holds current Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Basic Life Support (BLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certifications.
Patient education runs through nearly every role on her resume. She taught heart patients and their families about medications and ongoing care at Cleveland Clinic, prepared surgical patients and families for recovery at EMH Regional Medical Center in Elyria, and coached patients on medications, pain management and post-procedure care in the PACU at Avon Surgery Center.
Thirty Years of Nursing in Northeast Ohio
- 2025 to present: Specialty Infusion and Clinical Education, Oberlin Ketamine Clinic, Oberlin
- 2024 to 2025: Infection Control Leadership Team and PACU, Avon Surgery Center, Avon
- 2018 to 2022: Care Coordination, Home Care, Amherst
- 2009 to 2016: Surgical ICU, Perioperative Services and Recovery Room, EMH Regional Medical Center, Elyria
- 2007 to 2009: Surgical ICU and Emergency Department, Firelands Hospital, Sandusky
- 1998 to 2005: Cardiovascular ICU and Transplant, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland
- 1996 to 1999: Registered Nurse and Charge Nurse, Trauma, Surgical and Cardiovascular ICUs, Mt. Sinai Hospital, East Cleveland
She earned her associate degree in nursing from Cuyahoga Community College and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Indiana Wesleyan University.
A Record in Quality and Safety
Saghafi’s most recent role before the move centered on patient safety. On the infection control leadership team at Avon Surgery Center, she led an initiative that raised infection-control compliance from 30% to 100% and kept it at 100% for three consecutive quarters. The work covered two surgical facilities and included medication audits, staff education and regulatory compliance. She worked with physicians, anesthesia providers and nursing staff to explain policy changes and track whether they held.
Her earlier work in home care coordination in Amherst drew on a different set of skills: working with physicians, home health agencies and community partners to remove barriers to care, so patients could keep receiving the services they needed after leaving the hospital.
Outside the Clinic
In 2022, Saghafi founded a national Zoom mentoring group for young adults on the spectrum, which she continues to lead. The group first drew about 30 participants and has kept a core of about 15 active members.
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