1999 was a year of change. Not only was it the marking a new century, it marked the beginning of Sharonda Randle’s career with Baptist Health. Her role as an LPN quickly changed as she acclimated to her team members and experience level. Soon, Sharonda enrolled into our Resident Nurse program. “I was actually part of the first Baptist Health class where my RN diploma was paid for entirely by the institution,” Sharonda pointed out. Education assistance and reimbursement is our key approach to making your career goals into reality. Sharonda exemplifies why this policy is so important to us; she used that RN education to move from Acute Care to Home Health, and her ability to develop new nursing skills helped foster a constant need to grow.

I also obtained my bachelor’s of nursing because of Baptist Health—they paid that as well. Then I came over here as an Administrator at the Ginny and Bob Alzheimer’s Center in July of 2018, and my role with that is what’s paying for a part of my doctorate degree.

There’s no doubt that our continued investment in our staff is what has made Sharonda stay with us for over two decades, but there’s more to it than that. “The advancement here . . .” Sharonda recalled respectfully. “It’s unreal. Baptist Health does not hold you back. They support growth.” Through the years, Sharonda has grown from her LPN position to an RN, ARN III, Director of Nursing, and now as an Administrator for her own facility.

In my current role, I make sure that the daily operations flow smoothly. I make sure the residents are cared for and the employees are happy, because when you’re happy and engaged, you do better work. That’s my main focus—making sure the residents feel safe, happy, and cared for.

And like many other Baptist Health leaders, she starts that happy and engagement from within herself. “I make sure to lead by example,” she said. That way, her employees see that the ideal qualities of a Baptist Health aren’t necessarily written down on paper: they’re experienced. Sharonda knows the importance of quality compassionate care because she’s had experience with centers like ours in the past. “My father was an incomplete quadriplegic, and my family cared for him and worked with nursing facilities sometimes,” Sharonda remembered.

The nursing facility that he was in wasn’t a Baptist Health center, and it was drab. That drew me to wanting to do something for people who couldn’t do something for themselves, in terms of physical and health care needs, and wanting to make their lives better.

Help Sharonda continue to care for the patients of our center by applying for one of our open positions. 2019 could be your very own year of change!