Eunice came to us at the beginning of January 2016 from our sister center, Commonwealth Health & Rehab Center in Fairfax, Virginia. She had worked at Commonwealth for a little over a year as the Long Term Unit Manager. The Assistant Director of Nursing position here at Gainesville is a big promotion for her and is closer to her home.

Ever since Eunice was a young girl growing up in Ghana, she has wanted to be a nurse. While helping to care for her beloved grandmother at the age of 14, Eunice discovered a love of caring for the elderly, playing a part in making them feel better, and making a difference. Her grandmother had suffered from a severe stroke and required around-the-clock care. Whether it was bathing her, singing to her, or just holding her hand, the time that Eunice spent with her made a lasting impression and prompted her to go into nursing. Now, twenty years later, her grandmother is alive and living independently, thanks to the loving commitment of her family.

Eunice said, “I just love geriatrics! I love helping the elderly and just being there for them!”

Having grown up in the city, Eunice said that life in Ghana is pretty much the same as it is here. English is the official language in Ghana, so Eunice had English classes in school since the first grade. She studied teaching for two years in college before coming to the United States to continue with her education in 2001. She attended Global Health College in Alexandria, earning her LPN in 2006, and her RN in 2010. She also completed general studies at Northern Virginia community College while living with family, until she married her husband in 2004.

The first nursing job that Eunice held in the U.S. was in private practice. She worked as a Charge Nurse at Fairfax Family Practice for over six years, from 2006 to 2013, with a few breaks in between when her two boys were born. She spent several years staying home with them and working PRN (as needed) for the Family Practice office.

Her next job and first taste of long-term care was a supervisory position at Manor Care in Alexandria, where she worked from 2013 to 2015. With a love for the geriatric environment, she then moved up to the Unit Manager position at Commonwealth in 2014.