By Amber Mabe

Aging is difficult. Planning for, or transitioning into, long-term care can be even harder. Studies estimate that more than two-thirds of adults over the age of 65 will need long-term care at some point in their lives, in addition to those who require short-term stays in skilled nursing facilities after surgery or while recovering from injuries. With hundreds of assisted living and long-term care homes across the state of North Carolina, what makes Piney Grove Nursing and Rehabilitation Center the best choice for you or someone you love?

For administrator Jennifer Jasper, providing the best care means creating an environment where both staff and residents have their needs met in a compassionate, purposeful way. “It’s about putting care first,” says Jennifer. “It’s not about the bottom line. If you take care of the people, the people will take care of the people.” As someone who has experienced healthcare from both the position of a provider, and of a patient as a breast cancer survivor, Jennifer knows how important teamwork and a positive atmosphere are when it comes to healing and healthfulness. 

After graduating from Montreat College, Jennifer immediately entered the field of geriatric care as a social worker, where she quickly fell in love with the people and became passionate about making a difference in the realm of long-term care facilities. In 2004, she earned her Nursing Home Administration license and began her journey as an administrator that has spanned two states and nearly two decades of service. “I was baptized by fire,” Jennifer says, recalling her early years in administration. “I’ve seen more stuff than probably many a veteran administrator has ever seen. I’ve seen it all.” Those years of learning, growing, and advocating change in her facilities meant Jennifer was more than prepared when she received a call asking her to consider a move to Piney Grove in 2019. Jennifer instantly found herself drawn to the Kernersville community, falling in love with both the town and the people who make it special. The choice to take over administration of Piney Grove was an easy one, but the road to becoming the only five-star rated Principle LTC facility in the state of North Carolina required hard work, consistency, and a dedication to putting care first. 

Today, Piney Grove is not only the only five-star rated facility within hundreds of miles, but it is a resource for raising the quality of care in other facilities as well. Piney Grove is one of the select few care homes chosen to partner with Novant Health, and has become highly sought-after for fracture management, stroke rehabilitation, and wound care. The beautiful 92-bed facility features top-tier rehab programs and equipment, physician coverage three days per week, and access to hospice care through Cardinal Hospice. Though certainly valuable, the facilities themselves are not what make Piney Grove stand head and shoulders above the rest. For Director of Nursing, Tammi Devlin, the value of Piney Grove was evident within moments of setting foot on the property. “Just being in the building felt like home,” says Tammi. “Seeing how well every staff member in this building knew the residents: from housekeeping to dietary aides to the CNAs, the communication was great, and it was such a family feel.” 

Prospective residents and their family members often comment on how different the atmosphere of Piney Grove is when compared to other facilities they have toured. If you walk the halls of Piney Grove expecting darkened rooms, strange smells, discouraged faces, or eerie silence, you will be sorely disappointed. From the sound of Jennifer singing in the hallways, to the sight of smiling residents engaging in social activities, Piney Grove is a building full of life and vivacity, not a place to fade away. Short-term and long-term residents alike can enjoy a high quality of life through enrichment activities like crafts, gardening, games, puzzles, and even dancing. This atmosphere begins with the staff—something the leadership of Piney Grove does not take for granted. Jennifer believes that valuing each team member is an important part of forming a community. “Our CNAs are our frontline workers,” she says. “They are the ones fighting that battle of everyday healthcare, keeping people healthy, managing their health, saving lives, or keeping people comfortable while they transition. It is important as leaders that we remember that the only reason that we are doing as well as we are doing is that the people we take care of are taking care of the people.” This translates into a work environment where every staff member has the ability to come to work with a full cup, ready to pour into others. “If we are not okay, we cannot care for others,” says Tammi. “We are human beings and we are not perfect, but the compassion and the caring way our staff treats other people’s family members as they would treat their own grandparents is amazing.” 

From beginning to end, the staff at Piney Grove endeavor to make each resident’s experience as pleasant and stress-free as possible. This includes working with residents and their families financially through access to services like Medicaid Done Right, helping families gain Medicaid approval. When residents are ready to leave, Jennifer and her staff do everything they can to make sure residents have the resources they need for returning home. “I tell my residents when they leave that I don’t just want to be the place where you repaired that hip or recovered from that shoulder fracture. If you need anything, anything at all, call me and let me know, and I’ll be that resource,” says Jennifer. In a tight-knit community like Kernersville, it does not take long for a caring spirit like the one at Piney Grove to overflow into the local neighborhood. There is no doubt that Piney Grove has become a vital part of the Kernersville community and is a haven that locals can trust when it comes time to consider short-term or long-term care. For more information, visit PineyGroveCare.com, or call 336-996-4038 to arrange a tour.