Lancashire Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

We celebrated our milestone service anniversaries and recognized our Team Member of the Quarter (for Q2).

Congratulations to Team Member of the Quarter Michael Smith! He is truly a blessing for the residents, says Administrator Amy Payne. He sings with them and makes them smile, and we are lucky to have him at Lancashire.

We also recognized Sharda Beane and Donte Smith for 1 year of service and Demetria Thomas for 5 years. Thanks to all for everything you do to support individuals to live their best life!

Happy anniversary 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.

Colleen says social work and the Resident Navigator role go hand-in-hand.

“I’ve been working directly with Marylee for a few years now and she is amazing,” Colleen says.

“She knows the facility, residents and staff from her multiple different roles over the years. She knows the community and how to connect with people. She is an advocate for the residents, for Lancashire and for all of VHS, and is always sure to promote the services we can provide in that area (including skilled care, long term care, hospice). She genuinely cares about people. She is always smiling and willing to help the team.”

“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.”

We appreciate the kind words for our team and Marylee in this five-star review on Google! Thank you for trusting us to provide your father's care.

Our team celebrated Independence Day early with a cookout and gift basket giveaway. Thanks to our donors for helping making the day special!

Our residents love creating things - crafts, artwork, they do it all. They also love to be active and play games. We could use a little help keeping them in art supplies and fun games. If you are so inclined, our Amazon wish list is available here: https://bit.ly/3XHRGcB. Thank you for being so generous and supportive of our community!

We celebrated CNA Week and thanked our CNAs with a luncheon. We appreciate all they do to support our residents and provide quality care!

Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States, observed on June 19. It signifies when word of the Emancipation Proclamation reached the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas, in 1865 - more than two years after President Lincoln signed it into law.

We hosted an early Father's Day celebration with "Doughnuts with Dad." Our residents got to spend time with their families over tasty doughnuts and coffee and juice. We hope all the fathers and father-figures have a safe and healthy holiday weekend! 💙

Our CNAs are always there for our patients and residents. This week (June 13-19) recognizes the work Nurse Assistants and Certified Nurse Aides (CNA) do daily to ensure quality patient care. They are the backbone of what we do. We value each of you. Thank you all for your hard work and compassion in supporting the individuals in our care!

Our residents will have another Bingo store on Tuesday, July 30.

We are asking the community for help with donations. Donations of all varieties are appreciated. Below is a list of ideas. Please drop donations off at our facility at 287 School Street in Kilmarnock by July 23. We thank you for your support!

✔️Art supplies (paint, canvases, paint brushes, markers, colored pencils and crafts)
✔️Word searches and crossword puzzles
✔️Sugar-free candy/snacks
✔️Socks
✔️Slippers
✔️Nail polish
✔️Coloring books
✔️Sensory items
✔️Jewelry
✔️Makeup
✔️Hats
✔️Lotion
✔️Pocket packs of tissues
✔️Individual bags of chips
✔️Beanie babies
✔️Greeting cards

We hope friends and families of our residents will join us for Donuts with Dad to celebrate Father's Day! We'll have donuts and camaraderie in the dining room from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, June 14.

Please RSVP to Activity Director Amber Watson at [email protected] or 804-435-1684 by Wednesday, June 12. We hope to see you there!

Thanks for all you do to support our team, Colleen! We look forward to hosting the Recruiting Roadshow 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, June 27.

VHS celebrates Healthcare Recruiter Recognition Day VHS Senior Recruiter Colleen Reynolds is building community partnerships to make career opportunities at Virginia Health Services accessible.

It was our big National Skilled Nursing Care Week blowout - our team members and residents showed off their best fashion statements from the 1980s for our Day of Decades party, with special guest DJ Beaz! There was food, games and fun for all, plus we had perfect sunny weather and enjoyed the fresh air.

Thank you to our nursing team! We have been proud to celebrate National Nurses Week and National Skilled Care Week back-to-back with you. Our wonderful nurses go above and beyond for all of our residents.

We are using National Skilled Nursing Care Week as an opportunity to introduce you to a few of our residents. Today, we share the story of Robert Laws, who has resided at Lancashire for about four years.

His many odd jobs throughout life – where he was a cook, installed fences and “everything in the name of the world” included serving as the former maintenance foreman at Lancashire.

The Lancaster County native has a lot of family members in the area and says he gets along with everyone.

“Life is a character, it goes on and on. I love my life,” he says with a kind smile. “… I’m cool, that’s all you need to know. No more, no less than that.”

Read more stories: https://bit.ly/3QKJbt2

It was our ‘70s day for National Skilled Care Nursing Week. Our team members and residents showed off their best fashion from the '70s today. We're ready for our Day of Decades party Thursday!

We are featuring a few residents who call Lancashire home during National Skilled Nursing Care Week. Today, we introduce you to Sandra Scripture.

Sandra has called Lancashire home since January 2023. She moved in for the extra help – and to help ease her children’s minds.

“I’m a china doll on the wall and I have somebody here to pick me up when I fall,” she says.

The 24/7 nursing care, regular meals and housekeeping are benefits to staying at Lancashire. It’s also close to some of her children. She lived in Northumberland since 1983, but was born and raised in Caroline County.

Sandra is a regular in the therapy room to keep up strength in her knee, using the stationary bike and other equipment when she has the chance.

She participates in Resident Council, but prefers to skip some of the activities.

“I’ve always had to meet deadlines, I enjoy just being able to relax and think and read,” she says.

Sandra was in dentistry for 50 years. She worked for a dentist as an assistant who made her learn everything, she says, “and that was the foundation for my career. I worked for several other dentists and they all found me as knowledgeable as they were.”

There is a plaque in the division of dental health in Richmond in honor of the work she did for rural Virginia. Sandra worked for state dental health division for 15 years.

“I’m just an average person who loved people and loved the Lord and enjoyed life,” she says.

With a last name like Scripture, it was inevitable Sandra’s husband would pursue ministry. He attended seminary 20 years after graduating from Virginia Tech and working for the state in Richmond in the division of health research.

“We were late in life doing things,” Sandra says.

They fostered 14 children during their marriage, adopting a son, and have three children. Sandra says there are “a bunch of grandsons and great-grandchildren – who knows where they are, but they keep in touch!” (It’s with a smile – there are just too many locations to recall in an interview.)

They both usually held two jobs. Sandra’s husband passed in November 2022.

“He preached on Sunday and died on Tuesday,” she says.

Their youngest daughter got in the pulpit the Sunday after he passed and has been preaching at Wicomico Baptist in Remo since. Sandra says she gets there every so often for services.

“As much as we think about our future – I never wanted to go to a nursing home, but it’s actually in my mind the best thing for us older people. Gives our children peace of mind that somebody’s always watching us.

“I think we elders need to rethink the thought that I don’t ever want to go to a nursing home. It’s not home, but it’s the next best thing.”

Read more stories: https://bit.ly/3QKJbt2

We got our groove on today to create tie-dyed T-shirts for our Dancing through the Decades party on Thursday to celebrate National Skilled Nursing Care Week.

We are so excited to celebrate National Skilled Nursing Care Week! The theme is the Golden Age of Radio and our fun includes classic movies, tie-dyed T-shirts, '70s trivia and a Day of Decades dance party for team members and residents. Stay tuned to our page this week for the highlights.

Families are invited to join our residents in the fun! Our calendar: https://bit.ly/44CJV9A

Happy Mother's Day! We celebrated early with a lovely tea party for our residents. Thank you Mt. Olive Baptist Church for delivering gifts and carnations to all!

Our team - Maria, LPN; Administrator Amy; Director of Nursing LaTasha, RN; CinSere (general office); and infection preventionist LaToria - cooked breakfast for our nursing team members this morning to celebrate National Nurses Week. It was quite the spread! Thanks to our nurses so much for all you do to provide quality care and support our residents to live their best life!

Our Director of Nursing LaTasha Muse has been with Virginia Health Services for 16 years. She says she has always had a love for seniors, and calls her job "demanding yet rewarding."

Her advice to new team members? "Stay focused and remember why you chose the job — no matter how hard it may seem."

Thank you, LaTasha, for your leadership and everything you do daily to make the difference and support individuals to live their best life!

Read more: vahs.com/vhs-directors-of-nursing-2024

We are highlighting the various career paths you can take as a nurse in long-term care during National Nurses Week. Several members of our team have gone from CNA to LPN and RN, moving into roles such as infection prevention, certified wound care, MDS and leadership.

Read the blog linked below for more details and see our job openings at vahs.com/careers. Thank you to all the nurses providing quality care to residents and patients!

Thank you to our nursing team for the dedication and skill you provide to our residents in delivering quality care daily. We are excited to celebrate National Nurses Week with you!