Virginia Health Services

To celebrate Christmas in July (and in time for Culinary Month), our team at Coliseum Nursing and Rehabilitation Center hosted an upscale fine-dining experience for its residents. They were served fresh salads, baked potatoes and steak tips in gravy, in addition to dessert and table-side beverage service. The residents also were treated to holiday music and gifts. The activities team, dietary department and nursing staff worked together to bring Coliseum residents a special evening. We appreciate all they do to support our residents to live their best life! #culinarymonth #seniordining

We celebrated our Team Member of the Quarter (Q2) and milestone service anniversaries for VHS corporate and Home and Community-Based Services at The Arbors Independent Living this afternoon. Congratulations to Christina Lewis, who is our Team Member of the Quarter! Christina is the VHS Director of Dining and Nutrition and leads our dining program in all nursing and rehabilitation centers and senior living communities. Team members celebrating milestone service anniversaries in attendance were Jarrett Gabel (10 years), Thomas Carey (5 years at The Arbors), Angela Joe (1 year). Instructor Nora Gillespie, RN, who helps lead our earn-as-you-learn apprentice program students, also celebrated 10 years with us this quarter, and Tina Marie Watson celebrated five years with VHS Pharmacy. VHS Rehabilitation team members will be recognized at their nursing communities for years of service. Thanks to all for what you do daily to support individuals to live their best lives!

Congratulations to Marylee Anderson, who celebrates 45 years of service at Lancashire today! Marylee joined the Lancashire team in 1979 as a bookkeeper. Lancashire was acquired by Virginia Health Services in 1998 and remodeled. She can recount any number of resident stories that have stayed with her over the years. “I love the residents and the people that I have met. I have lots of fond memories in the past 45 years. I have lots of stories – happy stories – I can tell,” she says. “A lot of lasting friendships with family members, residents and staff members that I wouldn’t have had in the last 45 years if I hadn’t come to Lancashire.” Marylee served as an administrative assistant as well before becoming admissions coordinator for Lancashire following the VHS acquisition. Once admissions became centralized, she was a staffing coordinator and medical secretary, then moved into the Resident Navigator role when it was created. She also does social work, teaming with VHS Director of Counseling and Support Services Colleen Coleman. “I basically have been doing social work for 45 years,” Marylee says. “So much of it has been working with the residents and families, solving their problems and being with them during their difficult times.” Marylee was born and raised in Richmond County, and has lived in Lancaster County longer than anywhere else — about 38 years, she says. She has been married to “my sailor” for 35 years, and enjoys outings on the water with friends and family. She says she always has been drawn to helping people. “It was instilled in me as a child. It’s just part of living – you need to help your fellow man,” she says. She has seen a lot of changes at Lancashire over 45 years — for her none greater than the implementation of MDS and the addition of computers. There weren’t computers at Lancashire until it became a VHS community. “We needed experts for computers and technology,” she says. “I’m thankful I’ve been here the last 45 years and been allowed to grow with all the changes.” Throughout her time, she’s felt supported in her various roles. One thing has remained constant. “Talking, consoling, being friends, advocating for the residents — I’ve been doing that for 45 years,” she says. “I feel like that’s what you’re supposed to do — you’re supposed to help.” Learn more about Lancashire at vahs.com/lancashire.

July is Culinary Month, and the Virginia Health Services Director of Dining and Nutrition Christina Lewis shared a recipe to encourage you to take advantage of the abundant summer harvest during grilling season. This Grilled Peach and Goat Cheese Salad with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette is easy to make and combines two of the best summertime activities — grilling and taking advantage of the abundance of fresh, ripe peaches! Any of the stone fruits that are ripe in summer — peaches, apricots, plums and nectarines — are great on the grill. Grilling helps to bring out the natural sweetness of the fruits, and the warmth of the grilled fruits is a great contrast to the cool crispness of the lettuce, Christina says. She oversees the VHS Dietary and Nutrition Department, which serves residents at our senior living communities and nursing and rehabilitation centers. It also offers nutritional services to individuals in our care with VHS Home Health and VHS Hospice. Christina also hosts cooking demonstrations at The Arbors Independent Living to provide recipes for when residents utilize their apartment kitchens. Get the recipe and learn more about our dining and nutrition program: https://lnkd.in/e84i7FrC #culinarymonth #seniordining #seniorliving

Happy 25th anniversary with VHS, David Crosson! Our Senior Vice President joined the team in 1999 as the first executive director of VHS Rehabilitation. At that time, he was its only team member. “I was doing treatments, evals, and recruiting therapists,” he said. “Because of how the industry was changing, those therapists at contract companies and recent grads were looking for work. I was able to provide job opportunities. With me being the only person, I needed the staff, too. We were able to bring staff on pretty quickly." About a year later, VHS Rehabilitation opened its outpatient site. Over the course of its 25 years, VHS Rehabilitation has grown to include physical, speech and occupational therapy in outpatient, skilled care and contract settings that have included assisted living centers, jails and schools. While he has a background in physical therapy — he earned bachelor’s degree in exercise science and master’s degree in physical therapy from Old Dominion University — David says he prefers the operational side of the business, including staffing and dealing with regulatory issues. During his time with VHS, David has had a hand in the acquisition of Coliseum Nursing and Rehabilitation in 2013 — “that was a big pickup for us,” he says — and spearheaded establishing VHS Home Health Care in 2015 and VHS Hospice in 2017. “Once we got into skilled care, VHS grew a lot. We changed our operations. VHS grew along with me,” he says. He says he is proud of everything he is involved in developing. “The Rehab piece is a big piece of VHS. Home Health and Hospice were big additions to VHS and the success of VHS. It wouldn’t be something I would want to do and walk away from,” he says. “It’s nice to see those businesses develop and evolve. And then, it’s also the people. … A lot of what I do is more for the people who work for me, and keep them employed in environments they’re thriving in.” Read more about David and the launch of VHS Rehabilitation: https://lnkd.in/e_KfA3cH #physicaltherapy #skillednursingcare

Best wishes in retirement to Kathy Wickline! We celebrated her final days with company with cake, beautiful flowers and a lot of smiles this afternoon. She spent almost 23 years with VHS helping us navigate IT solutions. When she started in 2001, it was to install a local area network (LAN) at James River and the separate building behind it, which served as the corporate office at the time. Then the wide area network to connect the facilities. Communication was done by pager. There was limited email and no company mobile phones. Resident files were hard copy. Times changed quickly! Patient files are electronic, computers are a staple and patient care is more efficient with technology. Electronic timecards and scheduling, more efficient billing and payroll software, company-wide email and ditching the pagers to move to smartphones, telehealth and the influx of technology brought on by the pandemic – Kathy’s seen it all. “IT is there for everything,” she says. We'll miss you not being there for it anymore. Cheers to you, Kathy, and thank you for everything during your time with us! Enjoy yourself!

We're proud of Hannah Green, who recently passed her exam to be a licensed master social worker. Congrats, Hannah! The VHS Hospice social worker joined the Virginia Health Services team in 2019. She started as a social worker at Walter Reed before moving to the Hospice team, where she interned while completing her master’s degree from St. Leo’s University. The Gloucester County native earned her bachelor’s degree in social worker from Christopher Newport University. “When I was at Walter Reed, the administration was encouraging and supportive of me going back to school and getting my master’s. They were very flexible at letting me go part-time there. During your master’s, you have to do an internship that takes half your work week,” she says. “… I kind of fell in love with that population (at Hospice during my internship). When I graduated, I had the really hard decision of sticking with what I knew I loved, which was nursing homes, or making the switch. I ended up doing it and have been happy with that decision.” Several members of the VHS social work team, including Hannah, are in supervision to be licensed clinical social workers (LCWS). VHS Vice President of Home and Community-Based Services Donna Marchant-Roof is their supervisor. The clinical hours they need to complete is part of their daily workload. “It feels great. I’ve never been a part of an organization where I’ve felt this encouraged or supported. It’s really nice having leadership that wants you to move forward in your career,” Hannah says of being part of a team working toward clinical licensure. “… It has been amazing having a group going through the same thing that you can talk to for support, vent to, get advice from. Donna has been absolutely amazing at helping us decide what our next steps should be.” Hannah says she originally wanted to be a teacher. She spent a lot of time working with the Boys and Girls Club before entering CNU. Once she started the education program, she said she realized a different career path would better suit her. She found there are a lot of different environments and populations she could work with in social work. As a social worker with VHS Hospice, Hannah says she is happiest getting to know her patients and their families. “I love hearing the stories about their lives, where they grew up, how they met their partners. I think my favorite ones are the ones where they won’t stop talking about their grandkids and showing me pictures and photo albums. It’s a nice feeling to be a part of someone’s journey to end of life,” she says. Want a career where you feel valued and encouraged to develop your skills and credentials? VHS is looking for social workers for its nursing and rehabilitation centers. Visit vahs.com/careers and apply today. #socialwork

Applications are open for our Peninsula- and Gloucester-based apprenticeship classes that begin in August. The earn-as-you-learn program graduates Care Assistants to Nurse Aides over the course of six weeks and includes classwork, clinical skills labs, on-the-floor experience, and the cost of the certification exam to be a CNA. Our graduates go on to be team members in our nursing and rehabilitation centers. The Peninsula class dates are Aug. 19-Sep. 26, and the Gloucester class is slated for Aug. 5-Sept. 12. Apply today at vahs.com/apprenticeship. #CNAJobs #cnacareers #Apprenticeship

Our team is reflecting on the one-year anniversary of the Dialysis Den's opening at Coliseum Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in partnership with DaVita Kidney Care. We treated our first patient the end of June 2023. In a year’s time, the Den has completed 1,485 treatment sessions, said June Barbrey, VHS Vice President of Admissions and Front-End Revenue Integrity. Based on census, DaVita has added team members to cover more shifts over more days. The Coliseum team is responsible for getting residents ready and taking them to and from the treatment center. The DaVita team manages the treatment process in the Den. “You see the outcomes and how much better it is for the residents,” says Coliseum Administrator Dudley Haas. Having an on-site Dialysis Den is beneficial to residents who no longer have to worry about transportation off-site in addition to receiving hours-long treatments. We appreciate all our team and the DaVita team does to support our residents! Read more about our Den's anniversary: https://lnkd.in/eT_cYCe7 #kidneycare #dialysis

Congratulations to our most recent Gloucester apprenticeship program graduates! Jordan Hudnall, Kaeli Key and Candi Lewis graduated from Care Assistants to Nurse Aides during a ceremony Tuesday, and will remain on the Walter Reed team. They will prepare to take the certification exam to be CNAs. The earn-as-you-learn apprenticeship program covers about six weeks of classroom and skills lab training, in addition to on-the-floor work, and covers the cost of the exam. The students brought a sense of humor to the class, said Training and Education Coordinator Tracy Williams, MSN, BSN, RN. “This was a very special class for me. They all learned quickly, and excelled in clinicals and the classroom portion of the class,” Tracy said. Walter Reed Administrator Bryant Hudgins welcomed friends and family to the ceremony. “I started in the CNA class back in the stone age,” Bryant joked, “and it catapulted my career.” Jordan earned the Champion Award for excelling in class and connecting with the residents. Candi was salutatorian and Kaeli was awarded valedictorian for top marks. “I was extremely nervous — kind of like I am right now — and worried I would fail, but I was wrong. With the help of amazing teacher and two equally amazing classmates, I watched my confidence increase week after week,” Kaeli said in her valedictorian speech. “… Thank you, VHS, for offering this program, Tracy for being the best teacher we could have, and Candi and Jordan for being so supportive and all the laughs. We did it.” The next Gloucester class is slated for Aug. 5-Sept. 12. Read more about the class and how to apply for the program at https://lnkd.in/eRHnkths #apprenticeships #cnajobs #nursingjobs #nursingcareers