Compassion for all

Frances Brown of Skyline Nursing and Rehabilitation in Floyd, VA is one of a kind. Her calling has always been in healthcare, and from the start she has put her heart and soul into long-term care. For the last seven years, she has worked as the workforce manager, mainly handling scheduling and other responsibilities. Although Frances is not as hands-on as some CNAs and LPNs, or RNs, she still cares deeply for the residents at her care center.

Frances’s sincere drive for healthcare likely comes from her mother who also worked at Skyline for over 17 years. Frances used to work at Skyline as a receptionist in high school and she quickly learned that she had a love for the elderly. It was this time spent working beside her mother that really made her realize where she wanted to be and what she wanted to do in life.

Since the beginning, Frances has always had the desire to help others. When asked what motivates her to come to work each day she said, “I want to make the residents’ lives better, help them to enjoy the time they have left, and to make them happy.” It’s important to Frances to be able to keep an eye on everyone and make sure that she is there each day for the residents. Frances truly enjoys working at Skyline and she says “we are like a family here,” which makes it easy to love her work and be enthusiastic to get up for work each day.

In addition to the family environment and the desire to help the elderly, Frances is also moved by the impact several residents have had on her over the years. When she began working initially, she became very close to one particular resident. She saw him  every day and ended up becoming very attached. In fact, the resident had a love for  Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Dr. Pepper, so Frances would bring these items to him every week. Another resident loved birds. Frances made a point to make sure that the bird feeders outside her room were always full, and each day Frances and the resident would discuss the birds and how the squirrels were stealing all of the food! It’s these special relationships that continue to drive Frances at work.

It’s no surprise that out of all of the Core Values, Frances feels most strongly about compassion. As her role impacts the employees heavily, she needs to be there to listen to them and be their go-to person. If someone needs to cover the floor, she needs to be there. Because of this, Frances feels very compassionate towards her team which has now become her family.

Frances does not see herself ever leaving healthcare. In fact, she hopes to eventually go back to nursing school so that she can one day become an RN and be able to help the residents even more. We are so grateful to have someone like Frances on our team, and we hope that we can support her on her journey to becoming a nurse very soon. Thank you Frances for all you do for our residents each day!