Patch Gets To Know Deanna Green

MARIETTA, OH — Washington County Commissioner James Booth says Deanna Green, the new Washington County Home Administrator, and Social Services Supervisor, is doing a bang-up job. “The County Home to most who don’t know is for anyone 55 and over. For those who it’s getting tough to live on their own.”

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It sits on a giant chunk of property by the Washington County Humane Society out on County House Lane, not too far from Walmart. They have a fully functional farm where they raise cattle, they have an apple orchard, fishing ponds, a nature trail, and a garden. They have medical staff and housekeeping on hand. Their mission is to provide a safe comfortable home for county residents who may need assistance with daily activities of life while supporting independence and dignity.

Deanna Green is currently celebrating one month in her current role. “I am very much enjoying it, the residents and employees out here are fantastic,” Green explained that she cares about the community, she’s from here, went to Warren High School then to Marietta College. She got a teaching degree and taught elementary school-age kids for a bit until she had children of her own to care for.

Then she went to work for Job and Family Services, she was there for 15-years. “I worked in social services for 13 years, adult protective services, childcare eligibility, childcare licensure.” She has a long history of this kind of work. “This is new for me as far as in-house residential, but I feel as if my past experiences do provide me the ability to be the administrator here.”

She says what surprised her the most about the County Home is how much there is going on. “There are so many activities going on out here. There’s music, there’s bingo, today they pulled the grill out and were grilling steaks. The guys out at the farm are going to make homemade ice cream this summer.” She says they try to keep a lot of stuff going on to keep the residents happy.

This is extremely important given the amount of COVID-19 restrictions they’ve been under. Restrictions that in this case, have paid off. The Washington County Home has not had any virus outbreaks. “A lot of nursing facilities have really struggled with COVID, none of our residents have contracted COVID.” They have around-the-clock staff, so the fact that they’ve been able to keep COVID out says a lot about how careful they’ve been. “Sanitation, distancing, PPE, they just went above and beyond.” She says they’re hoping to be able to allow visitors soon. “Vaccinations were offered to residents and employees and most took advantage of that.”

Green says moving forward and out of this pandemic, she sees a lot of potential for the county home. There could be a collaboration in the future. Buckeye Fields is a project that is underway. It’s going to be 64 senior housing units built basically next door. “What I can see is us creating a good partnership.” She hopes to help both sets of residents get acquainted by doing things together like gardening or fishing. “I’d like to see us partner with the community more. High schools, schools, we already do some partnership with the Humane Society.” They’re trying out a summer youth program for the first time this summer.

Green wants people to be involved. “I want people to know that we’re out here. I think a lot of people don’t think about us. I want to be part of that conversation.” The county home accepts donations, not only in money. “The other day we received three large totes of DVD movies that now our residents can enjoy.”

She says does what she does now because she learned at JFS that her passion is working with older adults. “I love working with people. My four-year degree was in education, but even when I was young I volunteered at a nursing home.” She says it’s hard to explain why she enjoys helping older adults. “A lot of times people value children, and I do too. But sometimes we forget that there are people who are very isolated and have no interaction.” The idea is to engage these types of people. “They’re an asset to us, our older population (of which is growing in Washington County) is an asset. We want to take care of folks. We want people to be happy and healthy here in Washington County.” She says once COVID restrictions loosen up she looks forward to folks coming out and seeing the residents living in what she calls “Washington County’s hidden treasure.”

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