Her Story
About Rayona
Rayona Deanes is a licensed nursing home administrator with five years in the role and eight years of leadership experience across nursing homes and senior care facilities. Her professional background includes human resources, payroll, and serving as a billing accounts manager. She attended nursing school but did not finish the program. Deanes attributes her success to taking baby steps, being willing to learn, asking questions, learning from mistakes through trial and error, researching regulations, and developing relationships with state surveyors. She advises slowing down as the best career advice received and stresses the importance of effective communication as the biggest challenge in her field. Deanes values work-life balance highly as a family-oriented person who prioritizes God and family while making a difference in her residents' lives. She encourages young women entering the industry to avoid pursuing roles solely for titles or status, to remain humble, passionate, prompt, and to lead by example while accepting constructive criticism.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Rayona
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to taking baby steps, being willing and eager to learn, asking questions, trial and error, learning from my mistakes, researching things, and developing relationships with state surveyors. I realized you have to make mistakes in order to succeed and that you don't know it all. Asking questions and being humble helped me along the way.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received is to slow down. My boss said I'm a fast thinker but advised me to slow down so I don't tire myself or my employees out. He said when you're such a fast thinker, that could be overwhelming to someone else who cannot catch on as fast.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't go into it just for a title. Be humble. Don't just go after things for status. Make sure you give it your all. Be passionate in whatever you do. Be prompt, and make sure that whatever you're expecting of others, that you're being a good leader. Stay humble and be willing for constructive criticism. Do what you can like that at a time, baby steps.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is effective communication. There are so many different people involved - staff, vendors, third-party contacts, hospice, case managers, State Department of Health, CMS, families - and communication has to be clear, backed up with guidelines, not just jabber. Families often have unrealistic expectations, and without effective communication, departments fail.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Work-life balance is the biggest for me. I'm a very family-oriented person. Although I love my residents, of course, biblically speaking, you know, I love God first, but my family second. Of course, my husband and my daughter are a part of that family. Being able to make a difference while still having time to love on those I love the most.
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