StoneBridge Maryland Heights, Zessatin Summerville

Social Service Director and Length of employment 4 years 

Zessatin creates meaningful connections with all her residents and families. She remembers small details allowing each of the people she cares for to feel special. She spends many extra hours at the facility to address concerns and to make individuals feel welcomed to the facility. Zessatin is committed to being an exceptional ambassador of the StoneBridge brand. Her positive attitude shines through on everything she does. It is the personal touch and care that Zessatin provides that allows her to make sure that we remain the first choice for many of our residents. She regularly goes above and beyond to ensure that our residents receive compassionate and individualized care. 

Zessatin is the Social Services Director for the largest StoneBridge community. Through this difficult year and two major COVID-19 outbreaks, Zessatin has been instrumental in caring for our residents as well as our team members. Zessatin has never backed down from a task, from providing direct care, telehealth appointments, handling room moves, serving meals, providing housekeeping, assisting leadership with a multitude of projects and continuing to stay late regularly to make sure our families are informed and concerns are addressed. She has shown both loyalty to our community and an unrivaled grace and poise in providing her services. Zessatin has had an exceptionally difficult year both personally and professionally. We have asked her to rearrange her schedule numerous times with no notice. She has no family near St. Louis and is a single mother. Every single time StoneBridge needed her, she made sure she was here. She has never offered a complaint, just kindness.

StoneBridge MarbleHill, Amber Green, 

Business Office Manager and Length of employment 8 years 

Amber personifies both the mission and the vision of StoneBridge Marble Hill “to provide exceptional care in a family setting and to be the first choice in senior living in the communities served by our family.” It is clear for all to see that Amber takes great pride and respect in caring for her residents and her team members. She has served in multiple capacities throughout her career at StoneBridge Marble Hill – Beautician (2008), Nursing Assistant and Certified Nursing Assistant (2012-2017), and her current role as Business Office Manager which began in 2017. She displays excellence in all that she does no matter the area or department that she is serving. Although those are the areas that you can expect to find her, no one is surprised when they see her pushing the housekeeping cart, spraying down dishes in the kitchen, or helping maintenance unload the supply truck when it comes in. If she sees there is a need for help, she does not hesitate to fulfill that need. 

She is eager to help any department in need while continuing to excel and exceed the requirements of her duties as Business Office Manager. Amber has assumed a significant new role in Covid 19 testing, documentation, portal data entry, DHSS reporting and submission, tracking of all POC and PCR testing and tracking of all positive resident cases through the Covid 19 Portal. Amber exhibits the highest standards of quality in all aspects of her career and possesses a “take charge” attitude not only in her current duties but also accepting the challenges of new ones without having to be asked. 

Amber’s healthcare and C.N.A. work experience allows her a broader understanding of facility team member needs and provides a greater perspective in her management role. She can truly see “the big picture” and is invested in the success of StoneBridge. This does not however hamper her ability to see each resident as a specific individual recognizing the need to hold their hand, give them a heartfelt embrace or to comfort a family member during the loss of their loved one. Amber is a valuable asset to StoneBridge and a great support system for the Administrator, the entire StoneBridge Marble Hill team, the residents and their families.

StoneBridge Florissant, Diedre Lewis

Certified Nurse Assistant and Length of employment 5 years 

The team at StoneBridge Florissant is excited to announce Ms. Diedre Lewis as a candidate for Employee of the Year. Diedre has been a CNA for 22 years, and we’ve been lucky to have her at StoneBridge Florissant for the past 5 years. Diedre works the night shift at Florissant and absent of the impeccable order on her unit and the happy, well taken care of smiling faces of the residents, you may not notice her as she is a quiet breeze of fresh air. Her soft and welcoming voice provides a warm spirit for anyone that interacts with her. The residents love her because she takes her time while providing them with the best care possible. Diedre also picks up extra shifts and will come to work a few hours early even though she is already working a 12-hr shift which emulates her dedication to the facility. She is a team player with a heart of gold. Her laugh is infectious and we are truly honored to have her on our team. 

StoneBridge De Soto, Harry Norris

Certified Nurse Assistant, and Length of employment 3 months 

Harry Norris is a CNA on our night shift. Residents voted for our employee of the year, and they chose Harry. The residents state that Harry makes them feel like real people, that he is down to earth and spends time with them and asking them how their day was. He is a great CNA giving them great care, and that they look forward to the night shift coming on when Harry is working. 

StoneBridge Lake Ozark – Rina Gonzalez

Certified Medical Technician – 12 Years of employment with StoneBridge 

When it comes to getting things done, Rina knows no task too big or

too small. In order to provide the excellent care we stand for, Rina is always willing to provide a helping hand to her coworkers, management and residents alike. Her care and compassion know no bounds and her personality shines brighter than any star in the sky. Rina is not only an excellent employee, but also an excellent grandmother as she is the leader of her granddaughter’s Girl Scout troop. Not many people can manage their time efficiently enough or possess the drive necessary to handle such a large task, but Rina does so flawlessly on top of being an outstanding worker, coworker and friend. To say we are blessed to have her as a loyal employee is an understatement, and all her coworkers follow the light she emits. Rina leads the way wherever she goes, she knows how to gain anyone’s attention, and is not afraid to stand up and take charge. Without a doubt this star employee deserves the recognition and training that comes along with being the COMPANY employee of the year! 

StoneBridge Westphalia, “Mama” Judith Ntimpa

LPN and Length of employment 2 ½ years 

Judith has been a breath of fresh air ever since she started at WH. All the staff call her “Mama” because she is always taking care of everyone. Judith has always been a strong advocate for the residents and will do anything for them. Judith is strong in her faith. Often times, she pulls out the bible to find the perfect bible verse for a certain staff or resident to read to help through a difficult time. We had a resident that was scared to pass away. After her shift, she would read the bible and pray with him to help get him in a better place spiritually before passing away. Judith has the biggest heart of gold. We are lucky to have her on our team.

StoneBridge Villa Marie, Cheri Darr

LPn, MDS/Care Plan Coordinator, SBSL Employee since 2018 

The StoneBridge Villa Marie employee of the year is Cheri Darr. Cheri became a LPN in 1995 and is very talented and demonstrates genuine compassion and care for our residents. During the pandemic year 2020, she demonstrated excellent leadership skills by always volunteering to work nights shifts and day shifts while still performing her MDS duties. She is a true team player that also has a strong interest in helping the residents and their families through the most difficult time of their lives. 

Cheri’s commitment to our community, the residents and their family members and her work family is why she is our 2020 Employee of the Year. Congratulations! 

#StoneBridgestrong 

StoneBridge Oak Tree, Savanah Snyder

Life Enrichment Director, Length of employment 5 ½ years 

Savanah provides our residents exceptional care and service in a family-like setting especially during our 2020 holidays with special activities, decorations, inside and outside visits and facetime or zoom meetings. She also took the lead and organized visit appointments during the entire 2020 Covid pandemic. 

Our families and residents were so appreciative of visits on the actual Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays!

Savanah helps fulfill our vision of being the first choice in our community as she performs multiple tasks, i.e., she is a Licensed Cosmetologist, Certified Activity Professional, Certified Social Services Designee, Certified Dementia Practitioner, Certified Medication Assistant and is currently enrolled in the Nurse Aide certification class at Oak Tree! 

She was one of the first to volunteer to work in the Covid isolation unit where she provided hands on attention to our most frail and Covid stricken residents. 

Savanah took the lead in arranging dining room seating assignments to include the need for social distancing. She never hesitates to assist the dietary department in serving meals to all residents. She also added a 

special snack cart featuring their favorite snacks which are passed twice a day by the Life Enrichment Department. 

Savanah is tenacious in the amount of love and caring she offers to all our residents. She is a constant reminder to all other staff of what the standard of care and attention to the well-being of each resident needs to be. 

StoneBridge Chillicothe, Mary VanDyke

Social Services, Length of Employment 9 years. 

Mary is an integral part of our community. She is the biggest advocate for every resident. She is responsive to the residents’ needs and preferences. Mary is a great liaison between the resident and their families and the staff to ensure good communication is achieved and

social services needs are met. Mary also serves as a liaison between our resident’s and our community partners to ensure smooth transitions for the residents in and out of our community. Mary is passionate about what she does and has gone above and beyond numerous times to make sure our residents are comfortable and happy. This was especially true during the trying times of this past year. She is someone you can count on to step up no matter what the situation. We are so fortunate to have her serving in this role in our community. 

StoneBridge Adam Street, Justin Parker

Life Enrichment Coordinator, 8 months 

Justin has been here only 8 months, but what an impact he has had on residents and staff. He has been a superstar since the day he walked in to be a part of our family. He started as a very ambitious C.N.A. He puts 

a smile on everyone’s face everyday. There is nothing he won’t do for his residents, whether it’s raising money to provide something special, to being one who ALWAYS steps up to cover on the floor. When we had our Covid-19 unit, he worked tirelessly to make sure all were properly cared for and did it with compassion and kindness. 

Justin is a resident and staff advocate, and if he thought things could be better he would let us all know. 

As he became the Life Enrichment Coordinator, he did it with the same style of energy and passion as he did as a CNA. He has had only high accolades from staff and residents and truly represents the true vision that the Liermans want in their staff/family. Stonebridge is very lucky to have him as part of our team.

StoneBridge Blytheville, Tiffany Levy

Life Enrichment Coordinator, Length of Employment 2 years 

Tiffany Levy has been an outstanding team player who diligently works through personal challenges with enthusiasm. Levy exemplifies the true meaning of a dedicated worker, as she pushes through her chemo treatment and continues to strive in ensuring residents participate and engage in fun activities. She always offers assistance when there was a need in other departments and continues to perform above expectation in her duties. StoneBridge Blytheville selects Tiffany Levy as employee of the year 2020. 

StoneBridge Pocahontas, Evalyana Kisino

Resident Assistant, Length of Employment 2 years 

Evalyana takes caring for the residents to heart and goes above and beyond for each and every one of our residents. She is an inspiration to her co-workers, and she is always willing to pitch in anytime. Evalyana displays an amazing attitude with everyone she encounters, even during these trying times she continues to keep her head up. Even behind the mask you can almost see the smile on her face! Evalyana takes pride in caring for these residents. She doesn’t look at them as just another face, she looks at them like family! She treats not only the residents with respect, kindness and love but also her co-workers. This is why her co-workers all agree that Evalyana should be the next Employee of the Year at StoneBridge!!

StoneBridge Hermann, Angie Scheidegger

R.N. wound nurse, Length of Employment 30 years 

Angie or “Blondie” as the residents call her, has been employed with StoneBridge since 2015. However, she has been with our building in Hermann since June 1990. Angie has held many titles in our home from being a Charge Nurse at the young age of 23 to being our Director of Nursing a few times to help fill in and a Wound Care Nurse. She graduated from Nursing School in May of 1990 and knew long-term care is where her heart belonged. 

On a daily basis you might see her answering a call light, helping a resident to the restroom, giving meds, cleaning a floor or speaking with a staff member about their own health concerns. Angie does all of our doctor rounds as well as scheduling the residents zoom and facetime meetings. She is also our liaison with our families, updating them with any changes. When Angie is away from work she enjoys working in her flowerbeds, shopping, making the best beer bread ever and spending time with her family especially her grandson. We feel Angie would make an amazing employee of the year for StoneBridge. Don’t you agree? 

StoneBridge Owensville, Marcy Brenner

LPN and Length of employment 1 ½ years 

Marcy exemplifies what a nurse is meant to be. She gives exceptional

care and has a great understanding with our residents. She is comforting and compassionate and always has a smile on her face and a kind word for anyone. She was nominated and won employee of the month in March based on her nominations from both her peers and residents. She listens to her residents and always tries to help them find a solution to their problem. She makes them feel like this is their home, and they are her family. If you ask the residents what is one thing they would say to describe her they say she is “truly loyal,” “awesome,” “extraordinary” and “exceptional.” 

StoneBridge Conway, Latara Wall

LPN, Length of Employment 3 years 

Latara has spent this year helping our clinical team make extraordinary steps in improving the lives of our residents. Being the nurse with the most years under her belt has become a vital part of peaceful communication and genuine care for residents’ clinical needs. She has been an excellent leader for new clinical staff, and her calming nature is felt in the culture of our community daily. 

StoneBridge Heber Springs 

Stacey Early, LPN, Length of Employment 1.5 years 

Stacey Early has shown her commitment to StoneBridge and its Vision and Mission by her actions of treating residents and staff like her own family. Stacey promotes StoneBridge to everyone she has contact with.

She has an active interest in the staff and residents, their lives and how to make it better everyday. No matter the cost or time to her, she is here for each resident and staff, much of it on her own time checking up on our work family and helping out when and where she can. She goes beyond the call of duty on a daily basis encouraging us all to be better people and pass it on to others. 

StoneBridge Cabot, Michele Shoffner

DCA, Length of Employment 6 years 

Michele has been a consistent team player since her first day of work. She willingly trains new hires, works extra shifts and assists wherever she is needed. Her compassion, dependability and winning attitude makes her an easy choice to nominate her for StoneBridge Employee of the Year! 

StoneBridge Russellville, Crystal Harmon

Life Enrichment Director, 2 years 

Crystal is a very hard worker, wears several hats, has covered shifts at short notice herself, is very helpful, loves to train people and her enthusiasm to get the residents the best care is never-ending. 

She really is a big asset here, and things run a lot smoother generally because of all the things she does!