Nurse Stories

Gail Geisenhoff

Vice President, Clinical Services
RNC

With over 30 years as a nurse, Gail Geisenhoff has risen to the position of Vice President of Clinical Services for her division in Golden Living. Although she has been in this position since 2001, Gail started her career with Beverly Healthcare in 1976. She began as a RN supervisor and then moved up as Assistant Director of Nursing Services, Director of Nursing Services, Nurse Consultant and then Regional Director of Education. 

“I always wanted to be a nurse, starting in junior high,” Gail explains. “I volunteered at hospitals and camps for the developmentally disabled every summer during junior high and high school. I became an RN at age 19 and went back to school later to get my bachelor’s degree in public health.”

Although the bulk of Gail’s career has been spent working with seniors, that wasn’t always the case; she actually began her nursing career in pediatrics. However, Gail was fortunate enough to be around geriatricians who wanted to teach and mentor the nurses. “That was an exciting thing,” says Gail. “We had a great group of geriatricians who took us on rounds.”

Ultimately, it was the difference in patient interaction that led Gail toward her career in senior care. While working in a hospital lent itself to more one-on-one patient care, working with seniors lent itself to the collaborative team approach to care. As a child, Gail loved team sports. Working together with others toward a common goal and leading a team was something that she always gravitated toward. “That management part of it was always attractive to me, and you don’t always get that opportunity to do it in a hospital.”

Gail has stayed with the company for so long because she believes in what Golden Living does. “The company has integrity,” she explains. “I’m proud of that. They care about giving the best possible care.”

She knows what it takes to provide excellent service to both her employees and her patients. “It’s important to be passionate about what you do and why you do it. Compassion for the people that you serve is important as well,” she says.