Editor’s Note: McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care are profiling the McKnight’s 2024 Women of Distinction honorees daily from July 1 to Aug. 13. For additional McKnight’s Women of Distinction content, visit this page.
Dedication, quick thinking and a passion for helping others all are important skills for people working in senior living, and Cathy Farmer happens to be a model example of all three.
As director of clinical services, the responsibility of overseeing Goodwin House Alexandria’s residential living, assisted living, memory support and skilled nursing services falls on Farmer’s shoulders. Fortunately, she has plenty of experience to draw on.
Farmer started at Goodwin Living’s Goodwin House in 1987 as a night-shift registered nurse supervisor, moved up to become a director of nursing, and then was promoted to administrator of health services. She also has worked as a clinical manager and a licensed nursing home administrator for a variety of other providers in her home state of Virginia.
Farmer is good at what she does, too, colleagues said. Every facility she has worked at has earned a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. She was involved in the creation of Goodwin Hospice and Goodwin House Home Care, and she also developed and led a communitywide wellness program for Shenandoah Valley WestminsterCanterbury continuing care retirement / life plan community.
In 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency paid Goodwin House Alexandria a surprise visit to conduct a survey. Farmer got to work immediately, training staff on effective disposal strategies for hazardous waste. She took the lead several years later during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cathy personally tested thousands of team members and helped organize vaccination clinics to protect the community from COVID-19, flu and RSV.
More about Farmer:
- Farmer received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and a master’s degree in nursing administration from George Mason University. She is a diehard Patriot.
- She is known to tutor students training to become certified nursing assistants, providing them with guidance and study materials to help them succeed.
- Farmer started working at Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads in 1987, the same year that the center opened.
The McKnight’s Women of Distinction program is jointly administered by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care. Healthcare Services Group was the Platinum sponsor of this year’s McKnight’s Women of Distinction Awards and Forum. PointClickCare was the Gold sponsor, and PharMerica was the Silver sponsor. Other sponsors included Curana Health, DirecTV for Business, Easyshifts, Hireology, Reliant Rehabilitation, ShiftKey and Sentrics.
Visit this web page to see lists of honorees from 2024 and previous years.
