Recent MC bachelor's degree grad enjoys caring for "God's fine china"October 23, 2024

After graduating with an Associate of Applied Science degree in 2007, it didn’t take long for Sherrell Washington to find her “calling” in life—working with older adults, whom she refers to as “God’s fine china.”

“My first job as a physical therapy assistant was working with athletes,” Washington said.  “I thought that was the direction I wanted my career to take.  However, when I took a second job working for a home health agency, I started working with senior citizens and found that this population is wonderful.  They have great stories to tell, and I love getting to know them.  I’ve been doing rehab with older adults for about 15 years.”

Washington currently works for Creative Solutions in Healthcare, a Fort Worth-based company that operates several nursing homes in Texas.  For the past year, she has served as rehab director at Buena Vida Nursing and Rehabilitation in Odessa while she has also been completing a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Health Services Management at Midland College.  Prior to that she was rehab director at Sienna Nursing and Rehabilitation for four years. 

This past May, she earned a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Health Services Management with an emphasis on Health Care Administration from Midland College, and now she is taking an online long-term care certification course.  After completing 1,000 clinical hours, Washington will apply for a license in long-term care administration.

“The first step in being licensed as a long-term care administrator was to obtain a bachelor’s degree,” she explained.  “Thankfully, Midland College offers a bachelor’s degree in Health Services Management that is completely online.  That went well with my busy schedule of working 40+ hours at a long-term care facility and then also working part-time with two different home health agencies.”

For her final capstone project, Washington created a director of rehab training manual that she hopes will be used by other facilities operated by Creative Solutions.

“The professors in Midland College’s Health Information Management and Health Services Management programs are amazing!” she said.  “The courses were exactly what I needed for long-term care administration.  They covered leadership, working with employees, employment law and even tips on balancing work and personal life.”

Time away from work for Washington includes watching football—any kind of football, but she said that college football is her favorite.  She also enjoys traveling “off the beaten path.”  One of her favorite spots is Balmorhea State Park in far West Texas.  She has also been to the interior of Mexico and frequently takes trips to visit family in Arkansas.  In late December/early January, she has plans to visit Thailand, which will be the farthest place she has ever been.  

Washington has spent most of her life in Odessa.  She moved there from San Angelo when she was 8 years old and graduated from Permian High School in 2000.  She has two children, a daughter Aariell who is 22 and a son Jackson who is 18.