GOOD NEWS

Glen Bunton of Johnson City named
Caregiver of the Year

Each and every day, thousands of dedicated individuals throughout the state perform the essential, but often thankless, duty of caring for the elderly and disabled patients in Tennessee's nursing homes. To many, this occupation represents much more than a job. It's a labor of love, a personal ministry or, one might even say, a higher calling.

That is certainly the case with the 2002 winner of THCA’s Caregiver of the Year Award. Glen Bunton, a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Appalachian Christian Village in Johnson City, has a college degree in chemistry and is a member of the Tennessee Army Reserve National Guard. But it is caring for the patients of the nursing home that he calls his “mission.” He chose a career as a CNA because it is his way of making life better for others on a daily basis, he says.

Gwen Hendrix, administrator of Appalachian Christian Village, says she would clone Bunton if she could.

“Glen is always on time and never misses work,” says Hendrix. “He is kind and caring, dependable and conscientious. For him, working as a CNA is not a job, it’s a calling.”

Bunton has worked on the evening shift at Appalachian Christian Village for 27 years. In addition to his regular duties tending to the patients’ activities of daily life such as bathing, eating and dressing, he also takes time to straighten their rooms, visit patients not on his rounds, empty the garbage for the entire floor and bring in goodies for patients who cannot shop for themselves.

He works as a trainer and mentor for his co-workers and sets a great example by always being on time for work and displaying a positive attitude. Excluding his military assignments, Bunton has only missed three days of work in 27 years. One time he even walked to work in the snow.

Bunton received the award at his facility on Nov. 15, declared Nursing Home Caregiver Appreciation Day in Tennessee by Gov. Don Sundquist. Stacey King, a local television news personality on WJHL-TV, Channel 11, presented the award. When the family members of patients learned that Bunton’s prize included a three-day cruise, they jokingly declared that they wouldn’t let him go on the trip because they love having him around so much.

2002 District Caregivers of the Year

Each year, THCA honors one person from each of its six geographic districts as District Caregivers of the Year. Glen Bunton, the statewide Caregiver of the Year, was chosen from the six 2002 district winners.

This year’s district winners include a woman who has provided exceptional laundry service at the same facility for 25 years, another woman who has become a special friend to a Huntington’s chorea patient and another who another who has overcome serious birth defects to become a beloved caregiver in her facility.

The district winners were honored at THCA's 55th Annual Convention and Trade Show in Nashville in September.

To read more about the five other district winners, click on their names below.

Memphis District, Olivia James, Wesley Highland Manor;
Jackson District, Shirley Robinson, Forest Cove Nursing Center;
Nashville District, Betty Reed, Woodbury Nursing Center;
Chattanooga District, Georgia Fiedler, Life Care Center of Collegedale; and
Knoxville District, Jean Wilburn, Sevier County Health Care Center.

Past Caregivers of the Year

In 1999, members of the Tennessee Health Care Association developed the Caregiver of the Year award as a way to recognize and pay tribute to the selfless individuals who go the extra mile daily in the state’s nursing homes.

The statewide award is presented every year on Nursing Home Caregiver Appreciation Day in November. District winners are honored in September at THCA’s Convention, and numerous facility Caregivers of the Year are honored each year by the staff at their own facility.

In the first year of the award, the THCA Public Relations Committee selected JoAnn Payne of Quality Care Health Center in Lebanon from a pool of 99 nominees as the inaugural statewide Caregiver of the Year. In a special ceremony, Dr. Fredia Wadley, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH), presented the award.

Nancy Noles, of Knollwood Manor in Lafayette, was honored in a special ceremony as THCA's 2000 Caregiver of the Year. State Sen. Charlotte Burks (D-Monterey) presented the award to Noles.

And in 2001, Kathy Burnett, activity director at Country Place Health Care Center, was awarded the honor. Tennessee first lady Martha Sundquist presented Burnett with her prize at Country Place in Crossville.

Archived Stories

“Good News” is a feature designed to spotlight some of the many positive aspects of long-term care in Tennessee. Know of a “good news”  item? Contact THCA’s Communications Department at info@thca.org.