At Riverside, the team is one big family. Still, it’s rare that team members actually are family. In honor of Father’s Day, we are highlighting the unique bond of two of our team members who also happen to be father and daughter.
Early in his career, Bob Hornsby worked several jobs at Riverside Regional Medical Center and has always been part of the Riverside family. This summer will mark 47 years with the health system. For 35 years, he has been a part of the supply chain team. Today he is the System Director for Supply Chain Management and oversees everything from purchasing and contracts, value analysis, and daily supply operations.
“When I started, there were six people in the purchasing office and six people in the store room and now we have over100team members supporting the entire health system,” he said. As the health system grew Bob’s role expanded as well.
He said “Riverside’s mission “To care for others as we would care for those we love” inspires our department in the work we do every day.” Though his position is non-clinical, he and his team feel like they play a key role in caring for our patients.
Growing up, his daughter, Meredith St. John, knew she wanted to be a nurse. Both her parents were health care field-adjacent, so she was exposed early. She remembers visiting the hospital with her dad and being intrigued by the doctors, nurses, and supply room. But she said the catalyst for a career in labor and delivery was the birth of her cousin. At just 10 years old, she was there to witness as her aunt gave birth.
“I thought it was the neatest thing,” she said. Her unlikely reaction to childbirth would lead to her calling.
Encouraged by her parents, Meredith pursued a bachelor’s degree in nursing at Radford University. The summer before her senior year, she completed an externship at Riverside in the labor and delivery unit, which confirmed what she always knew: she loved it. While there, she met and connected with the nurse manager, who remembered her the following spring. Fresh out of college, she had moved back in with her parents when she saw there was an open position at Riverside. She applied and was hired by that same nurse manager.
When Meredith first joined Riverside as a labor and delivery nurse, her run-ins with her dad were rare. She chose the night shift as an intentional way of laying the groundwork for her own career.
“I didn’t want to be known as Bob’s daughter,” she said.
Fourteen years later, Bob said their team members at Riverside often don’t make the connection.
“Many folks throughout the health system know me, and many folks know Meredith, but I don’t think they know her as Meredith Hornsby-St. John,” Bob said.
Now a labor and delivery nurse manager, Meredith has oversight of four areas of labor and delivery: antepartum, labor and delivery, obstetric triage, and obstetric surgery. After 10 years as a floor nurse, she became an educator before stepping into her current role as Nurse Manager. Bob’s office is located offsite from Riverside Regional Medical Center. Hers is in labor and delivery. They both have an appreciation for the role the other plays in the health system.
“It was very...different...when we started appearing in the same meetings and looked across the room to see each other,” Bob said. “It was eye-opening for me,” Meredith said, who always knew her father was in leadership, but not all that was involved in his role. She said she values being able to bounce ideas off and learn from him as it pertains to her career. At times, they connect just to decompress, and Bob said it’s nice to have a familial connection at work who understands what you’re experiencing and vice versa.
A proud father Bob said due to Meredith’s health challenges early on, he and his wife noticed how connected to and inspired she was by the nurses that cared for her. This admiration continued through her adolescent years. “From a very young age—and I don’t think it had anything to do with me—she had an instant connection with those in the nursing field,” said Bob.
As father and daughter, Bob and Meredith have always shared a bond. Many who know them say even their personalities, mannerisms ,and expressions are similar. Together with their larger family, including Meredith’s husband and own children, they prioritize time together. From beach days to boat days and camping trips, the moments they share are lasting. And now, they share a career bond. Meredith said her father has pushed her to work hard, which led to her stepping into leadership.
“I’ve been very proud of her commitment to Riverside and to nursing,” said Bob. “When people say things about her that are positive, it’s very cool. I think, ‘I guess we did do something right.’