Vernita Glen: Certified Nursing Assistant / Superstar

Certified Nursing Assistant Month

June is Certified Nursing Assistant Month. While that may not rank up there with other family holidays like The Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, in our North Sunflower family, it’s pretty special.

North Sunflower Medical Center – like most other hospitals – couldn’t function without the hard work of a remarkable team of CNA’s who help our patients with daily life functions and assist doctors and nurses with every level of healthcare treatment.

Vernita Glen

And like the Fourth of July has Uncle Sam, and Thanksgiving has the Pilgrims, North Sunflower has our own CNA Superstar. Vernita Glen was named the Mississippi Hospital Association’s Certified Nursing Assistant two years in a row (2009 and 2010). “It was an honor. I had to hold back tears when they called me to tell me I had won.”

Vernita joined the North Sunflower family 17 years ago. She moved to the Delta from Chicago and took a job at the Walter B. Crook Nursing Facility. “I had always wanted to go into Nursing. My oldest son is deaf, and that experience taught me a lot about love and a lot about patience,” Vernita said.

“They told me when I started as a CNA back in Chicago, ‘you can’t get too close to the patients.’ But you can’t help it,” Vernita told us. “Working so close with them – especially the married couples – you learn a lot about their history, and what they went thru in life. You become part of their family.”

Part of what makes Vernita such a fantastic CNA is how much she loves the work. “They make me laugh. They cheer me up. They appreciate the care they get here, and that makes me appreciate caring for them.”

Nationwide, there are about 1.4 million certified nursing assistants. We might be biased. But we think the CAN’s that work throughout our North Sunflower Medical Center family is the best.