Lashia Hicks initially hesitated when considering a career in skilled nursing and working with older adults, wondering if it would be the fulfilling career she was seeking.
However, it didn’t take long for Lashia, the current Director of Rehabilitation at Brooks University Crossing, to realize that long term care was exactly the career for which she had been hoping.
Lashia’s passion for skilled nursing began during her Physical Therapy studies when she completed her first rotation in a skilled nursing facility. While her peers were eager to go into sports therapy and meet famous athletes, Lashia was different. Despite her initial doubts, she found helping patients in this environment to be both challenging and rewarding, leading her to discover her calling.
Brooks University Crossing stands out from other facilities due to its abundance of specialists. This allows patients to be placed in different programs or areas based on their diagnoses with daily attention from these specialists.
Lashia has witnessed remarkable progress from patients who were previously unable to walk or stand, and they leave the facility functioning independently. Seeing these patients “get the biggest smile and the biggest joy” from their recoveries “makes it all worth it” for Lashia and her team.
Lashia emphasizes that every day offers new opportunities to meet and learn from patients in long term care facilities. She encourages individuals, even those without prior interest, to consider a career in skilled nursing as they may discover their true passion and long term career path, just like she did.
