MEET OUR STAFF
GIGI HOPKINS, RN,President and CEO
Lead Clinical / Theory Instructor
I started my nursing career at the foundation level. I worked as a CNA for 5 years before going to nursing school. As a nurse I first worked in oncology but later found an even greater love being a renal care nurse. For over 20 years I worked as a dialysis nurse. While in this field, I served as an acute care charge nurse, as well as, nurse coordinator. My duties as nurse coordinator enabled me to hone my managerial skills. My responsibilities included, but were not limited to, in-servicing the staff, staff and client scheduling, payroll management and compliance, assisting with contract negotiations, serving as professional liaison between medical and nursing personnel for various contracted facilities throughout the Richmond area, as well as patient/client teaching.
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I worked for several years as Director of Nursing for Assisted Living Facilities. This experience allowed me to gain knowledge of the Virginia Department of Social Services Regulations for the ALF, including but not limited to medication management. During this time I received the following credentials: UAI/ ISP certified , Train-the-trainer Certified, Medication Aide Instructor, as well as, CPR/ BLS/ First Aid Certified instructor.
My greatest passion of all is teaching. I decided to put all of these loves together and began to teach at J. Sargeant Reynolds College. I later opened Medical Health and Training Services training center. Here I teach the following classes: Personal Care Aide, Direct Care Aide, Medication Aide, CPR and First Aid. I also serve as Clinical Educator for one of the largest and most well respected continuum care facilities in the state of Virginia. I am responsible for the education compliance of all of our Nurses, CNA's as well as medication aides. Training include Dementia training, Skills fair, CPR/First Aid, Lift training, Medication Aide refresher courses, as well as , e-learning training. Again, I LOVE TO TEACH!!!! |
In my spare time I freelance as a staff developer. I work one-on-one with management teams and their staff to foster a more productive, friendly and professional work environment.
My for-fun jobs included working as a traffic anchor for Metro Traffic in Richmond and serving as station manager /drive-time radio personality for FAITH Radio. My most rewarding thing to do is to serve as mentor , guidance and in some capacity a life coach to young women who are scarred, wounded and broken. I enjoy being a servant and pouring into the lives of others. After years of serving as mentor I decided to solidify this passion by becoming a Certified Life Coach. Enough about me!!!! HOW CAN I SERVE YOU!!!! Ms. Gigi |
CANDACE PARHAM, PCA, CMA, Vice President and CFO
Clinical Assistant
Candace received her PCA certification from Medical Health and Training Services. Candace developed a passion for teaching and assisting others during her time as a student. She works as Clinical assistant to our instructors. Candace can always be found sitting in the back of the class encouraging and cheering on our students. During clinical week she works, along with the instructors, one-on-one or in group settings with our students to help them practice and perfect the skills required of them. She has a great rapport with the students and always leaves them with positive parting words during graduation. Candace always reminds the students to dream big and never give up on achieving their goals.
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NICOLE COLE, RN, BSN
Instructor
My name is Nicole Cole and I graduated from James Madison University Magna Cum Laude with my Bachelors of Science in Nursing. Currently I work at the Virginia Department of Health as a Public Health Nurse in the resource centers. These clinics are located in the housing developments in the city of Richmond where healthcare services are provided in the community. Through this job I found my love for working directly with the community and providing education in order to arm the community with the ability to be in control of their own health through knowledge. While in college I was a peer tutor for chemistry where I conducted review session for 15-20 students three days a week. It was through this experience that I found that I had a passion for teaching and with Medical H.A.T.S I am excited to bring my passion of teaching and nursing together in order to benefit my students. I am attending graduate school at Georgetown University for my family nurse practitioner degree and I plan on opening my own practice in the future in an underserved population. My main goal as an instructor is to provide motivation and let my students know that everything that they put their mind to is achievable. I achieved so many of my goals at this young age and I plan on continuing on this road to success. In my spare time I love to read and participate in praise dance ministry at my church. I can’t wait to see you in class!
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