THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 19, 1995 TAG: 9510170062
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
WHEN JOAN CHUPIK'S name was announced at a banquet during the Virginia Health Care Association's state conference in Richmond, at first she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Her peers had named her the association's Adult Care Residence Administrator of the Year.
Chupik, administrator of Sentara Village-Norfolk on Newtown Road, knew that she was nominated for the award, but ``the competition was so fierce, I had no idea that I would win,'' she said.
``When they called my name, I couldn't get out of my seat. I couldn't walk to the podium by myself.''
But what Chupik, 53, found so difficult to believe was a foregone conclusion for the many people who know her.
She was nominated for the award by her own activities director, Barbara Ackison, who considers her boss ``the greatest.'' Chupik also received support in the form of letters from past and present co-workers, family members of Sentara Village residents and state Sen. Yvonne B. Miller.
What started as Chupik's desire to return to college as an adult has turned into a very successful career as the administrator of an adult care facility - hence the honor as the state's best in her chosen field.
Chupik, a Virginia Beach resident, has been director of Sentara Village-Norfolk since it opened in 1991. She served previously as director of social services at Sentara Nursing Center, Chesapeake.
She also has been an advocate for the elderly. She has served on the Norfolk Task Force on Aging for six years and has organized a legislative breakfast each year. She has spoken on behalf of the Tidewater Caucus to have part of the state's lottery funds set aside for the needs of the elderly, and she has testified to legislators in Richmond on the need for more stringent regulations in adult care residences.
She also has been involved in the Norfolk Senior Olympics for many years and now serves on the executive committee for that group.
The mother of three, Chupik went back to school when she felt that her children were old enough to allow her to do so. She earned degrees from Tidewater Community College and Norfolk State.
``I had been the best mother and wife that I could be,'' she said, ``and I saw that my children were grown, and I had a need, and I challenged myself.''
Her major was in sociology, with an emphasis in geriatrics.
When she first went back to school, she had planned to work with young people, but a professor suggested geriatrics.
``I took a couple of classes, and I loved it,'' she said. ``So I stayed, and I wouldn't be anywhere else.''
The elderly, she said, ``have so much to give back to you.''
There are 70 residents at Sentara Village, and Chupik knows every one of them and their families personally. She says she thrives on the personal interaction she has with the residents.
In fact, she left one position, as senior citizen supervisor for the city of Norfolk, because she had very little contact with the people on whose behalf she was working.
``I never had one-to-one contact,'' she said. ``I was sitting in an office at City Hall.''
At Sentara Village, she said, she tries to maintain a homey atmosphere, because, after all, the facility is home to those who live there.
She said that she and her staff work under the philosophy that ``we are working in their home.''
Since Sentara Village is an adult care residence, not a nursing home, many of the senior citizens there are very active. The staff helps keep them that way by planning trips, visits to restaurants and other events. At the moment, they are planning a Harvest Ball, a formal dance and a wedding between two residents, ages 86 and 82.
``It's something to see that life still takes place,'' Chupik said. MEMO: If you know someone deserving of a Thumbs Up! feature, call Vicki Lewis
at 446-2286. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by BETH BERGMAN
Joan Chupik is the administrator at Sentara Village-Norfolk.
by CNB