With a combined 35 years of growing their careers, Max, Sherria, and Suri can’t think of anywhere else they would rather be than supporting the residents at Village Manor. Long known for one of the best places to grow your career in senior living, Village Manor values employees and encourages them to fuel their passions for rewarding work.
Sherria Hawkins was initially hired as a frontline caregiver and worked with residents as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and is now the Director of Admissions and Social Services. This story is not uncommon for our many long-term employees – Max Bell started as a CNA and is now a Unit Manager, while Suri Wilson began as a CNA and is now a Certified Medication Technician (CMT).
Leadership at Village Manor fully supports staff success and provides the right tools and training to make sure your work experience is rewarding – even making it fun with all the staff engagement, activities, and rewards incentives. Village Manor’s leadership team is devoted to offering help every step of the way, no matter what that looks like.
Sherria started here at age 19 and shared, “I knew nothing about senior care and had never even stepped foot into a retirement community.”. Since then, a lot has changed, Sherria loved being a CNA, but the leadership team saw the thoughtful and compassionate ways she handled residents and their families, and leadership encouraged her to use the college tuition program and earn her degree in social work from WKU. While being a single mother raising two children, this dream seemed exciting but also a little daunting. Because of the encouragement and support of Village Manor it all became possible. “I cannot express how thankful I am that Village Manor was flexible with my work schedule, understanding that I also had a school schedule and two kids – and paid for my degree!”
Career growth hasn’t stopped for Sherria and she’s now Master Certified Trainer with the Best Friends Approach for Alzheimer’s Dementia Care, instructing staff and families on leading practices in relating to loved ones with a dementia diagnosis. “When you see a company investing in you – it’s so rewarding to succeed when someone believes in you!” said Sherria. Many staff members agree she is a blessing to the entire Village Manor community.
Another staff member who has grown their successful career at Village Manor is Max Bell who started working at Village Manor in high school as a CNA.
Max has grown his career from a CNA, Licensed Practical Nurse, Floor Nurse, Admission Nurse to now serving residents as Unit Manager. He credits this growth to a combination of being self-motivated, as well as the encouragement he received from the Director of Nursing, Donna Howard, and Sherria Hawkins. Max connects with the continuum of care offered at Village Manor, he says “you can truly get to know someone in Independent Living and hear their life story, and then years later when their care needs have changed you are able to be there for them again in a time when they need it most.”
Since 2014 Max has been making staff and residents smile with his compassion for serving older adults. Max shared, “If you have a passion for helping others this is a great place to do so. Even if you haven’t found your niche within nursing you have so many levels of care here at Village Manor that there is a place for you and an opportunity to grow wherever you start.”
Another staff member, Suri Wilson, has been at Village Manor for five years. Starting as a nursing assistant, she learned quickly and was excited to continue learning through in-house training. “When I learned at Village Manor offered CNA classes it sounded really interesting to me & I took on the challenge and passed the state certification!” She enjoyed her time as a CNA before the Assistant Executive Director, Lanett Ivey, saw her passion for life enrichment and encouraged Suri to apply for both her Activity Director Certificate. “There is no place I could work and have this much fun, not only are the staff such team players but the leadership wants you to succeed and is there every step of the way!” To learn more and see open positions for your career growth visit LiveAtVillageManor.org
