Jeremy Ratliff
Editor
On Friday, May 31, Pine Crest Nursing Home Administrator Lisa Gervais will retire.
In doing so, Lisa will bid farewell to not only the facility she has overseen for the last seven years, but where the roots of her nursing career began, four decades ago.
A Merrill native, Gervais’ nursing career began at the age of 16, as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) at Pine Crest.
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a desire to help others,” Gervais explains. “I decided to go into the nursing field at a young age, right here at Pine Crest.” she adds with a smile.
Gervais remained employed at PCNH through high school and following graduation from MHS in 1981, she went on to complete her Associate of Applied Science-Nursing (ASN) degree at Northcentral Technical College.
Prior to returning to Pine Crest as a staff nurse in 1997, Lisa was employed for five-years with Good Samaritan Hospital. There, she served as a nurse on the obstetrics unit, followed by experience on the Medical-Surgical Unit. In addition, Lisa served as PCNH In-Service Director and Director of Nursing, as well as Quality Assurance Director with Aspirus -Post Acute Care; providing oversight of three long-term care facilities, Aspirus Hospice Care and home care.
Upon the retirement of former Pine Crest administrator Tim Meehean in 2013, Lisa applied for and was selected as his successor.
In looking back on her career at one of the few remaining county-run nursing homes in the area, Gervais lists the 2016 expansion of the facility-which added a special care and revamped rehabilitation unit- as her greatest accomplishment.
“I had no idea how important the expansion would prove to be, for the facility as a whole,” she explains.
“It was my first-time ever doing a strategic plan. A strategic plan is a very time-consuming, but very interesting process. I felt it was important to incorporate staff and community weigh-in and I feel we accomplished that. Overall it was a very rewarding experience for me.”
As for the most significant change in the field of nursing she has observed through the course of her career, Lisa cites the drastic shortage of entry-level staff.
“I would consider the shortage to be at a crisis level. Compared to when I first entered the field, or even 10-15 years ago, it just seems like there aren’t as many people interested in entering the field. Although I’m retiring, I would very much like to see that change,” she said.
“I would like to not only see an uptick in the number of those interested in the field, but I would like to see them bring a sense of pride and dedication to their work. Although not necessarily a glamorous job, nursing can be a very rewarding career field. I’ve loved every minute of it!”
“I’ve worked in various fields and capacities throughout my nursing career, but I’ve always come back to geriatric care. I’ve always been very passionate about Pine Crest. This facility has always meant a lot to me. I hope the success of Pine Crest, which I’ve experienced over the course of my career, continues for years to come.”
As for what lies ahead, Gervais quickly mentions spending more time with her family, especially her 8 grandchildren.
“I’ve had an enjoyable and very rewarding career and I will admit it will be tough to not come in every day,” Lisa explains.
“But its time. It’s time to take a step back and look at catching up on a lot of things, one of them is time with my family. One of my grandsons recently turned 16 and it really caught me by surprise. It was hard to believe time had gone by so fast, and time with my family will now be my focus heading into retirement.”
In addition to plenty of vacations and camping, Gervais may consider part-time work in consulting or interim-administration.
“But if I do, it will be on a very part-time basis!” she adds with a laugh.