Hello from Jill Talbert and southwest Virginia

Jill Talbert’s life seems to have come full circle.  Today Jill is the Clinical Director for Southwest Community Health Systems in the same building where she was born and she loves it this way. Jill is very satisfied that she is able to be a RN and Clinical Director in the small town she grew up in – what she enthusiastically describes as a beautiful rural area that is a good place to raise a family.

As a young girl, Jill wanted to be a nurse – maybe because her mother had aspired to be a nurse but never pursued it and this carried over.  Jill completed Appalachian Tri-College Nursing Program and then accepted a temporary position with the Health Department. Apparently, Jill’s mom also instilled the value of giving back to the community, because Jill was attracted to community health nursing and upon the end of her temp position; she immediately started to work for Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems – 23 years ago!  In the beginning, Jill appreciated that her work was close to her home although she confessed that initially she had no concept what a community health center really was.

Today Jill appreciates the balance of her professional life with her family life with her husband, and two energetic sons. Thanks to her boys, her family life is “pretty much sports – whatever is in season,” although she also likes to read and travel.  Jill is happy with personally knowing every principal and teacher that her sons have, living in a safe area, and having the opportunities to go camping, horseback riding, and “all that outdoorsy stuff.” 

But what really completes this satisfaction is the support Jill has been given to balance her family and profession. As a Clinical Director Jill does not spend as much time directly treating patients but she provides the same supportive environment she was given to allow other healthcare practitioners to care for patients. And these aren’t just any patients – these patients are her family and friends in this close knit community.

Jill calculates her success with the stories of patients who were cared for because the Community Health Center is here. She says she could go somewhere else and make more money but it’s about how you live your life and giving to others.

When Jill is interviewing someone for a clinical position in Community Health, she typically expresses her job satisfaction this way – “  At the end of the day when you lay down and put your head on your  pillow, you know you have given back to the community, and rest easier at night, knowing you do a good thing.”