University Place Care Center Leaders Implement Sweeping Changes

(This comes from University Place Care Center)

Chris Miller is the new Administrator at University Place Care Center (UPCC).  She is joined by Ria Javier, R.N., as Director of Nursing Services. Together this dynamic duo has implemented sweeping changes with a positive turnaround in a short time.

Miller states that the recent 100-percent, citation-free state survey of University Place Care Center came about “after a rough patch, but we were determined to plow through and push forward with a clear vision of where this facility is going.

On Oct. 28 on re-inspection, the state found UPCC citation-free. Miller adds that she and Javier have a “clear vision of the future and are striving to find a clear niche in the community and up the ante for what nursing facilities should be and can be.”  Miller echoed a recent quote by Richard Minnix, President and CEO of Leading Age, in which he stated that, "There should be two kinds of nursing homes: the excellent and the nonexistent."

Growing up with only one of her four grandparents nearby, Miller longed for contact with that generation of seniors and found her perfect career niche in long-term care after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Eastern Washington University. It was while seeking an internship she landed at Manor Care (skilled nursing facility), in Spokane.

Twenty years later, she has no regrets. She began working in activities and then cross-trained in social services. She has been a licensed administrator since 2004. Prior to taking on her current position at UPCC, she served as administrator at Nisqually Valley Care Center (NVCC), in McKenna.  Miller says she “fell face-first into long-term care. I love the elderly, their great stories, the different changes they’ve seen over their lifetimes, and have great respect for what they have been through.”  Miller is a single mother to a 13-year-old daughter.

Ria Javier, R.N. came to UPCC from Park West, a five-star skilled nursing facility (SNF), in Seattle. Her credentials include a license as a nursing home administrator from the State of Hawaii. She earned her RN degree in 1995 in the Philippines. She is Wound Care Certified, and holds a degree from the University of Washington in nurse management and long-term care. Additionally, Javier is a certified rehabilitation nurse from the Association of Rehabilitative R.N.s.  Javier makes her home in Gig Harbor with her four children.

University Place Care Center is located at 5520 Bridgeport Way West, University Place. Facility tours are available. To schedule a tour call 253-566-7166.