Ferguson

ELKINS — A Barbour County native recently purchased Valentine’s Assisted Living in Elkins, after previously buying Belington’s Stonehaven Home.

Taking ownership of the Valentine’s facility in May, Annalise Ferguson says she has spent the last two months trying to build a good rapport with not just Valentine’s staff, but also the residents under her care and their families.

She is also the owner and proprietor of Stonehaven Home, previously known as Talbott Personal Care Home, in Belington.

For Ferguson, her work in the geriatric care field began after graduating from nursing school. As Ferguson explained to The Inter-Mountain, after graduation, she sat down and asked herself what her favorite rotation was during her preceptorship. The answer was geriatrics.

“We did a stint at St. Joe’s in their long-term care unit, and so I thought, ‘You know what? Let me just get my feet wet, I’ll go work at Holbrook’s (Healthcare Center in Buckhannon)… and see,'” Ferguson told The Inter-Mountain. “‘Maybe I’ll like it, maybe I won’t. If not, I’ll just get a couple years of experience and then go work in the ER,’ and I just loved it. I mean, geriatrics are my people. I would never want to work in any other department.”

After her time at Holbrook Healthcare Center, Ferguson went on to work at the Good Samaritan Society in Belington. Eventually, Ferguson was approached by family friends Brian and Rhonda Talbott, the former owners of Talbott Personal Care Home, Valentine’s Assisted Living and Lavender Fields Assisted Living in Beverly, who asked if she would be interested in buying Talbott’s.

“At first I was like, ‘No way,’ Ferguson said. “That would be biting off way more than I could chew, and then I thought about it and thought about it, and I thought, ‘Well, you know what? I’m young. Maybe I should just give it a try.’ So I did, and I’ve loved it ever since then. The Belington building holds a special place in my heart.”

Valentine’s has also begun to hold a special place in Ferguson’s heart in the two-month span she’s been in charge. Ferguson explained that buying Valentine’s from most recent owner Denise Campbell was another opportunity she couldn’t pass on.

Despite the change in ownership, Ferguson stresses that she has no plans for any major changes to how the facility operates. She plans to keep things as they were, whether regarding the residents’ experiences, staffing numbers or even pricing, a policy she also applies to her ownership of Stonehaven.

“I don’t want to change the residents’ daily life,” Ferguson said. “What they were used to before, is exactly what we’ll continue. It’s the same with staffing. I did nothing but add staff… If (the old staff) wanted to stay, they kept their position. Pretty much just maintain what (the residents) are used to. No price increase. Nothing like that. I didn’t change anything in terms of (residents’) daily life… it remains as it was.”

Currently, Ferguson splits her time between Stonehaven in Belington in the mornings and Valentine’s in Elkins in the afternoons, dedicating herself to seeing each of her residents every day.

Valentine’s, under Ferguson, will also be continuing its contract with Odyssey Rehab Services for residents’ in-house speech, occupational and physical therapy. Respite care, or short term care, and the working relationship with hospice and West Virginia Caring will also continue at Valentine’s, Ferguson said.