Vicky and Anne-Marie are like sisters, they are one example of the importance of a chosen family.
For three years, Vicky has been the director of marketing and admissions at Forest Hills. For her, the best thing about working here is coming to the community with a team she was already familiar with. She’s worked with Tina, Crystal, and Anne-Marie before. Anne-Marie has been the controller at Forest Hills for a little over two years, but she has been in the industry since 1999.
Anne-Marie is 52 years old and enjoys working at Forest Hills. “I like the close-knit, small organization in terms of employees,” she says. “You know their quirks and a lot about them and their personalities. A lot of grace can be given to me because they know me. So, if I’m spinning, they grant me grace.”
A Chosen Family for Residents and Staff
In 2004, at Carrol Manor, Anne-Marie and Vicky started working the same day in the rehab center there and had orientation together. Anne-Marie’s mother also trained Vicky because at the time her mother had been the director of facilities at Providence.
Vicky has always worked in long-term care. Initially, she thought she wanted to be a nurse. But she started in healthcare management, business management, and then a minor in marketing. “It’s like the only job I’ve had. You really need to think outside of the box. I really do like what I do,” she says. She turned 60 this year. “This 60 is not the same as my grandma’s 60. It’s just a different time, she says.”
Annie is a resident here at Forest Hills. She is 95 years old and has been a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority for more than 75 years. She worked on Capitol Hill for 20 years. “I love basketball. I started playing in junior high school and then at Bluefield State College in West Virginia,” she says.
She often calls Vicky her niece, a title that reflects the connection they have developed, built on love, understanding, and a shared appreciation for life’s simple joys. “Annie is one of the many reasons I have purpose in my job,” Vicky says. Annie and Vicky’s relationship was featured in a WUSA9 news program here.
Visit Our Digital Exhibit
To read all the resident and staff stories captured as part of our AARP funded public art initiative, “See Me, Hear Me: The Art of Living,” funded by AARP and in partnership with Marvin Bowser Photography, Art Against Ageism and Tenleytown Main Street, visit our digital exhibit here.
Vicky and Anne-Marie
Annie and Vicky
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