With the help of American Senior Communities and the Opportunities to Nursing Excellence Program, 15 senior healthcare workers, including a Ft. Wayne nurse, are now registered nurses or licensed practical nurses.

Sesamille Moore, RN, Coventry Meadows Assisted Living, Fort Wayne, was among those who completed nursing programs at accredited schools, with costs paid by American Senior Communities (ASC), which operates Coventry Meadows Assisted Living, a senior community in Ft. Wayne. They were honored during a luncheon at the Bridgewater Club in Carmel.

The Opportunities to Nursing Excellence (O2NE) program helps nursing staff advance in nursing. Many start as certified nursing assistants and become nurses through the program. Since the program asks graduates for no obligation to ASC, they are free to use the education wherever they choose.

American Senior Communities locations across the state nominate staff members who go through a rigorous application process to enter the program. In addition to fully paid tuition, selected employees are also given a 30-hour work schedule while being paid for their regular 40-hour schedule, allowing additional time for classes and study. ASC also provides assistance for childcare, alleviating another common stress point for adults returning to school. This is the program¹s eighth year.

American Senior Communities Chief Operating Officer Dan Benson encouraged the graduates to never stop learning, never forget where they came from and reach back and help others. ³This isn¹t about ASC. This is about you. You did the hard work. We just afforded you the opportunity to do it.²

Other graduates and the licenses they now have or will have after passing state examinations are: Tonya Smith, RN, American Village; Kevin Rollins, RN, Countryside Meadows, Avon; Ashley Hudson, RN, Clinton Gardens; Holly Wingate, LPN, Brownsburg Meadows; Anntonette Sanders, LPN, and Elizabeth Kegg, RN, both from Eagle Valley Meadows, Indianapolis; Londiwe Ncube, RN, and Lori Cochrane, LPN, both East Lake Nursing and Rehabilitation, Elkhart; Valerie Scalero, RN, Hillcrest Village, Jeffersonville; Jessika Stahl, RN, North Woods Village, Kokomo; Jeanette Wing, LPN, and Nicole Stigers, RN, both of Rosewalk, Lafayette; Krystal Riggens, LPN, Rosewalk Assisted Living, Indianapolis, and Sharena Thorne, LPN, Washington Healthcare, Indianapolis.