Congratulations to All of our Memory Care Director Recognition Nominees

There are so many people who make it possible for us to care for our residents, especially through a series of challenging years.

This month, we have chosen to recognize our Memory Care Director nominees, who have been instrumental in creating a therapeutic and loving environment for our residents with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Each of these women brings their unique brand of compassion and creativity to the Varietas Community.

Please join us in congratulating the following nominees for their hard work, expertise and excellence:

Angie Wasnidge

Traditions at Reagan Park

Angie is hands-down one of the most compassionate, loving and patient nurses that I have had the honor of working with. Sometimes I stand back in awe of how natural it is for her to care for and communicate with those affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia. Her calming presence and ability to nurture draws our residents to her, and you can see that they feel better just being in her presence. She is a positive role model for our staff and a trusted partner and friend to our families.

Angie is in a unique position as a ‘working director,’ meaning not only does she take ownership of the Varietas neighborhood, she is also the full-time, dayshift nurse. This requires that she juggle many, many balls daily. When a ball drops, she just picks it up and keeps on juggling.

Our memory care has a wonderful reputation with high customer satisfaction. I attribute this to Angie and the awesome team members that work alongside her. Angie, THANK YOU for all that you do for our residents, their families and our team. You are appreciated beyond words.

Helena Hawkins

Traditions at Hunter Station

Helena Hawkins has been with Traditions at Hunter Station since December 2020. Although she is fairly new to Traditions, she comes with several years of geriatric and dementia experience. Her patience, infectious laugh and love for our geriatric population has produced a calming effect on residents, staff, and families.

Helena listens to the needs of the residents and families and implements change when necessary. She is truly an asset to our community, and we appreciate her diligence and dedication, especially during the pandemic.

Breonna Jones

Traditions at North Willow

Breonna has been with North Willow since May 2021. From the moment she accepted the position, she has been a tremendous asset to North Willow, families and, most of all, our residents.

Everyone appreciates her positive attitude and willingness to do whatever it takes. She has learned Varietas and BBET and works hard to continuously keep staff trained. She will do whatever it takes to figure out what each memory care resident needs to improve their quality of life.

I appreciate Breonna beyond what words can express and am lucky to be able to witness the difference she is making in the daily lives of our residents. Breonna received her Bachelors of Science in Health Services in 2019, and is a Certified Nursing Assistant. Her future goal is to become an Executive Director, and I have no doubt she will achieve that goal and be amazing at it! We all love you at North Willow, Breonna. Thank you for all that you do!

Lisa Stamper

Highgrove Senior Living

Lisa exemplifies our Core Values throughout each day, all while managing her staff effectively and providing her residents with a therapeutic and loving environment. She has always gone above and beyond when serving our community, whether that be assisting our sales and marketing team, communicating thoroughly to families during the move-in process or during the long-term stay, and providing the care and guidance needed for her staff and residents.

Lisa’s extra efforts and service to our community does not go unnoticed. We are very thankful to have her as part of our team.

Dawn Nugent

Traditions at Brookside

Dawn does a very good job with programing for the residents. She keeps them very busy and has a very structured program. On any given day when you go back to Memory Care, you will see the residents engaged and happy with activities. I have families say how much they appreciate that their loved ones are engaged and participating in things they enjoy.

We appreciate Dawn’s passion and her dedication to our residents.

Lisa Hamilton

Traditions at Solana

Lisa has been a great asset to our team and Memory Care. I like the hands-on approach she takes and that she is not afraid to get down and dirty. She assists with housekeeping and resident care and wears a lot of hats in Memory.

Lisa also has very good ideals and works well under pressure. She has been exactly what our MC residents need at Solana, and has made our MC environment fun, happy and organized. Lisa teaches us how to better interact with the sweet souls who have dementia, and I’m so glad she’s here!

We have a teamwork spirit, and Lisa joins right in and is great to work with! She has done an excellent job bringing the focus back to our daily routine, meeting residents where they are.

On any given day, you can find Lisa doing whatever is most needed at the moment: engaging with a group of residents, engaging one-on-one, doing laundry, cleaning apartments, educating staff and families. She is a hard worker and assures our residents are having fun and feeling loved!

Shannon Roe

Park Place Senior Living

Shannon has been a part of the Traditions team for 10 years, and what an asset she has been. She takes so much pride in our Varietas Community.

Shannon has a heart of Gold, a smart mouth, lots of experience and knowledge and is an exceptional part to our team! She started our Memory Care and has been involved in every step since. Regardless of the craziness that is going on, she brings a sense of calm and laughter to every situation. She is quite boujee but we love her tons!! She is also soooo pretty!! (inside joke) Shannon is without a doubt an instrumental part of the Park Place team and we couldn’t do it without her!

Jennifer Miller

Ashton Grove Senior Living

I am so excited to nominate Jennifer! Jennifer creates such a loving and welcoming environment for our Memory Care residents. She loves her residents like her own family, attends to every personal detail and is a great example of how we must meet each person where they are.

Jennifer ensures all her Memory Care Ashton Grove family feels purpose and that every day is worth celebrating. She leads excellent family support meetings and helps family and staff find the best solutions for the precious people in their lives.

We also appreciate how she never hesitates to educate us and do excellent tours of Memory Care. Her passion for quality dementia care is always clear and she is always willing to reach out to a potential new resident or loved one with empathy and support. If every family affected by dementia could have a Jennifer in their lives, the world would be a much greater place.