Despite her passion for nursing, Patricia had always dreamed of starting a family. In an effort to be there for her children, Patricia made the decision to leave Fox Chase and become a stay at home mom. While raising her two children, Patricia began and operated her own family childcare business out of her home providing early childhood education and development to families in the area. As a caregiver, Patricia was committed to providing children with a nurturing environment that would provide them with the skills to thrive academically and socially.

After many years of working closely with the families of Mercer County, Patricia was acutely aware of the challenges that the children, parents and family childcare providers faced and was eager to help fix them. In New Jersey, there is no law requiring family childcare professionals to be licensed or provide background checks. Patricia took it upon herself to research laws surrounding childcare nationwide, speaking with community members to understand their unique perspectives, and started a letter writing campaign to gain the attention of elected public officials. In her letters, Patricia urged Senators and Representatives to pay attention to the issues she experienced first-hand in the family childcare profession. In January of 2015, Patricia helped to draft a childcare manual that was then presented to Senator Joseph Vitale. Senator Vitale informed Patricia that he was going to chair the bill and Senator Shirley Turner would co-chair Bill#549 which would require licensing of family childcare professionals and allow for the expansion of privately-owned family childcare homes. Unfortunately, this bill has still not been passed through legislation.

One of the hardest challenges Patricia faced was her husband’s esophageal cancer diagnosis in 2000. After undergoing chemo radiation and surgery to remove the cancer, her husband became dependent on an enteral feeding tube. Watching her husband struggle like so many of her previous patients, Patricia was inspired to design a system that would allow her husband to move freely while being fed. With the encouragement of Fox Chase, Patricia was able to patent the product, obtain FDA approval, and eventually manufacture the system. This spurred the creation of Mobile Solutions International, a medical start-up that champions Patricia’s invention “Nutra2Go”. Patricia served as Vice President of the company and works to increase awareness among foundations, advocacy groups, and medical societies. Work continues during the process of obtaining a hic-pic code for medical billing.

Throughout the recent coronavirus pandemic, Patricia has continued to serve her community and look out for those in need. With the help of her two nieces, Patricia formed a team of 30 community volunteers to produce face masks. Together they distributed approximately 7,000 masks to the Trenton Police Department, all Trenton Fire Departments, State Police, local nursing homes, State and County workers, churches, truckers, and individuals that are of limited means. In a time of great fear and uncertainty, Patricia worked endlessly to make sure the community felt protected and taken care of.

If elected, Patricia Johnson promises to continue her long career of fighting for those in need. She is passionate about the determinants of quality of life and working to create meaningful change. From her patients, to her students, to her own family – Patricia has impacted the lives of thousands in Mercer County and beyond. In a letter, Patricia once stated “it is easily recognized that when I believe strongly in something, it becomes my passion for fighting for what I believe in.” Patricia Johnson stands strong in her goal to bring a hard-working, honest citizenry government back to politics in New Jersey.