National Nurses Week is May 6-12. Women’s Health Week is May 10-16 which started on Mother’s Day (May 10). In honor of these
three celebrations, we’d like to feature a mother-daughter nurse duo at the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) in the Chesterfield Health District (CHD).
Melissa Williams, of Disputanta, is the nurse supervisor for preventive & community health. She started her career in the medical field as a receptionist. When she was in her 30s and her children were a bit older, she felt like she needed to do more and it was the right time to go back to school. She earned her nursing degree from John Tyler Community College (now Brightpoint) and worked at Southside Regional Medical Center (Now Bon Secours Southside Medical Center) on the medical-surgical unit.
Melissa has worked at CHD for 12 years. She loves the fact that she learns something new every day and appreciates her team. Preventive & community health covers such a wide scope of programs with many moving parts: Tuberculosis, immunizations, nursing home screenings, sexually transmitted infections, rabies, child health, newcomer health, and employee health (TB screenings and vaccines).
Her adult daughter, Darian Williams, also works at CHD in women’s health. Her mother, Melissa, opened the nursing door to her as a teenager. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, so she asked her mom about nursing. Melissa described it as a broad career with many options, which appealed to Darian. She admired her mom because Melissa would share stories from work that showed how rewarding nursing is.
Darian loves educating her patients to help them make informed decisions. She assesses her patients’ needs and gives accurate information to adapt and individualize care.
She bumps into her mom from time to time at work and loves it when Melissa brings her coffee.
“It’s great to have someone who understands the field to talk to after a rough day,” Darian said. “My mom can relate to what I go through, and it’s a special bond we share.”
This month marks one year since Darian started with the Chesterfield Health Department.
Women’s health provides education, preventive care, screenings, and resources for reproductive and overall health. Specifically, prenatal care throughout the whole pregnancy and including post-partum care. They do Pap smears but refer out for mammograms, including the Every Woman’s Life program for those who can’t afford insurance that covers preventive screenings.
Women’s health sees more than just pregnant patients. They see teens to menopause-aged women. They’ll reach out to their patients’ partners if testing and resources are needed. They also do sexually transmitted infection testing, treatment and family planning.
For more information on CHD, visit ChesterfieldVA.health. Apply to work for VDH at jobs.virginia.gov.