Williamsburg, Va. – Patriots Colony At Williamsburg, a Riverside Health System continuing care retirement community, is pleased to announce it has named Stacy Guzik, LNHA, MSM its new Nursing Home Administrator.
Patriots Colony At Williamsburg offers independent living, assisted living, memory support, short-term rehabilitation, nursing home and respite care for those 55 and older. Patriots Colony’s independent living residences are reserved for retired military officers of seven uniform services, civil servants, their spouses or widow(er)s. Its care residences like assisted living, memory support, short-term rehabilitation, nursing home and respite service are open to all with no prior career eligibility required.
Guzik, a Newport News native, is no stranger to Riverside.
After graduating from Warwick High School, Guzik earned an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Accounting from Saint Leo University and a Masters in Science Management from Troy University.
Her career in health care started as an accountant in Riverside’s Lifelong Health Division. She went on to serve as the Director of Business Operations at the Riverside Rehabilitation Center at Hampton.
“It was there that I fell in love with the geriatric population and wanted to serve them in even more ways,” Guzik said.
In Hampton, Guzik completed the program and studies to become a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator.
“I always saw the value of what I did in accounting in supporting residents, but I wanted to give back even more,” Guzik said. “To me, giving back means helping make residents’ lives as comfortable as we can. Where they live – whether here at Patriots Colony or any other convalescent center – is their home. I’m dedicated to making their home friendly, welcoming and a place they want to be.”
Guzik officially earned her license to oversee a nursing home in 2011. She left Riverside and worked with another company up until April 2019 when Riverside leadership reached out to her about joining the Patriots Colony team.
“I was thrilled at the opportunity to come back to Riverside,” Guzik said. “Truly, I jumped at the chance. Riverside is home for me. It’s where it all started and where I was inspired to do even more in this line of work. Truly, nowhere compares to Riverside.”
And nowhere, she said, compares to Patriots Colony.
“I have fallen in love with the building, the residents, my fellow team members and the entire community,” Guzik said. “It’s a great place to work and a great place to live. The care that the staff expresses to each and every resident goes beyond what is expected of them. They want to do right by the patients and the residents.”
While Patriots Colony is widely known in the region as a retirement community for retired military officers and federal employees, Guzik aims to help educate families throughout the region that the nursing home is open to everyone, and in many cases, is an option that people don’t realize they have.
“Nursing home care in general has changed over the years,” she said. “It used to be a place you thought of coming for your final days, as your final stay. But today, we are seeing a younger population. We are seeing more skilled patients – people who are coming in to rehabilitate for a short time from a surgery or illness and then return home.”
As Guzik continues to settle in to her leadership role at Patriots Colony, she said she’s already setting goals for ways to enhance the visibility of the nursing home, programs to enhance the nursing home’s quality ratings and efforts to continue to recruit new team members to serve the residents.
“There is a great team here serving truly amazing residents,” Guzik said. “We all want to support each other, continue to build the nursing home into the best in the region and always put our best foot forward, treating all residents as we would treat those we love.”
Published: September 18, 2019