Kristin Sutton joins the Legend Senior Living family as Kansas Regional Healthcare Coordinator

October 15th, 2018 | Press Releases

Legend Senior Living™ has announced the hiring of Kristin Sutton as Kansas Regional Healthcare Coordinator. She brings more than 12 years of healthcare experience and a passion for senior care to the company.

“I truly believe that I have been called to serve in senior care. I love working in this field because we connect with the residents who live in our communities,” Sutton said. “They become family to us and we’re gifted the opportunity to work with such an amazing group of individuals each and every day.” Sutton said. “There’s so much that they have to teach us and I love learning about them, their stories, and their past.”

Sutton began her career as a certified nurse’s aide (CNA) in 2006 as she was earning her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Wichita State University. The hands-on experience she learned delivering care at the bedside has been an asset to her as she has grown into nursing leadership. “I am thankful for the things that I learned as a CNA and it was during this time that I began to realize my calling was in senior care.”

“With more than six years’ experience in clinical operations leadership in multi-state, multi-site organizations, Kristin is a good fit for her new role,” said Theresa Viscardis, Vice President of Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado Operations for Legend Senior Living. “Moreover, she is intelligent, compassionate, and a great teacher with a deep passion for senior care.”

Sutton’s education and progressive experience throughout her career are exemplary. She has been working as a registered nurse for more than 10 years, and she has successfully taken on leadership roles including charge nurse, director of nursing, and regional clinical director. Her education will continue as she plans to complete her master’s degree in nursing in 2020.

Her responsibilities include providing clinical oversight and leadership to six assisted living/memory care residences in Wichita and two in Colorado. As the Regional Healthcare Coordinator, she assesses outcome metrics to improve processes to align with Legend Senior Living standards. “Kristin is personally driven to provide quality, clinical outcomes, as proven through evidence-based metrics,” Viscardis said. “Her commitment to delivery of care in a compassionate, dignified manner was clearly apparent. Also, Kristin is a very competent mentor to the Residence Health Care Coordinators and their clinical teams.”

Viscardis and Sutton have set some long-term goals regarding dementia care, which was part of what drew her to the company. “Legend has several memory care residences leading the way in dementia care and programming,” she said. “I hope to be a part of this exciting work and support the residence leaders in finding ways outside of traditional interventions to help improve quality of life for individuals with cognitive impairment.”

Along with the opportunity to develop dementia care initiatives, Sutton said it was essential that the organization’s principles and mission align closely with her own as a healthcare professional.

“It’s a blessing to be a part of Legend’s mission as we work to serve the needs of the whole person – their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being,” Sutton said. “I want to serve in a way that aligns with my personal goals as a caregiver and promotes the well-being of the individuals that I work with every day. This includes the residents, their families, and the staff in our communities, and Legend places value on all of them.”