Nancy Chila, RN, BS, has been named Nursing Director of the Year by the Virginia Health Care Association in recognition of her role in facilitating the Mount Vernon Nursing and Rehabilitation Center’s transition from long term care for the chronically ill to an emphasis on post-acute care and rehabilitation.
At the center, Chila introduced and implemented systems and processes for survey readiness, risk assessment and raising clinical competencies. She has been a mentor in helping nurses reach their professional goals and is an advocate for achievement of excellence in patient care at all levels. Nancy introduced regular management meetings that have resulted in the introduction of programs in pain management, fall reduction and wound care. She came to the Mount Vernon Nursing and Rehabilitation Center as part of the new management team that has been in place since 2010.
As the complexity of patients increase, she encourages many of the staff to get their RN degrees and assists them with obtaining financial support. She assists many of the staff in applying for the Regirer scholarships offered by the Commonwealth Long Term Care Foundation.
She has worked at MVNRC since 2011preceded by employment at a number of other nursing homes and health care organizations since 1979. She is a graduate of College of Mt. St. Vincent where she received her BS in nursing and enrolled in a graduate program at George Mason University. Nancy is a native New Yorker and moved to Vienna in 1996 with her husband and their three daughters. She began her nursing career as a certified nursing assistant in a nursing facility while in college. She has been a nurse for 32 years and recently returned to long term care as director of nursing. Prior to joining Mount Vernon Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, she worked as a clinical consultant for several nursing facilities.