Nursing students at The Boulevard pictured here from left, Angelie Jimenez, Darianna Paniagua, Amira Ali, Manahil Hadi, Valeria Alvarado, Abigail Kakarala, Viviana Lizarazu-Cruz, Valeria Garcia, Mary Grimmick, Camila Sorto and Instructor Zainab Kamara-Suma.
High school students looking to pursue the nursing profession get a head start by taking advantage of the Fairfax County and City of Alexandria nursing programs that are now part of the staff at The Boulevard, a senior facility in Fairfax.
First the students finish the classroom lessons at their high schools and then it’s on to the center to work with the residents.
“They learn in the classroom and then they come out to work with us,” said Jane Hughes at Woodbine Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, the management company that runs The Boulevard.
On Monday, Oct. 13 the newest group of Fairfax County Public School nurse aides started their clinical rounds at The Boulevard. The nursing students help with the close day-to-day work of caring for residents, helping with getting up, bathing and meals. Many go on to be nurses and fund their education working as Certified Nursing Assistants.
“They are the heart of any health care facility,” Hughes said.
Three of the former nursing students graduated high school and continued as nurse assistants at The Boulevard while four other CNA graduates are working in other nursing jobs within the community.
There are extensive nursing programs at West Potomac, Falls Church and Chantilly in Fairfax County and the City of Alexandria where it’s known as the Governor’s Health Science Academy.
The full name is "The Boulevard Post Acute," and it was formerly known as The Virginian, serving greater Fairfax’s post acute needs for decades. The caregivers focus on patients that come out of the hospital after an operation or other treatment but need more support before they are ready to live at home.