We are VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System: Stark Hill

 These Veterans come from all walks of life in middle Tennessee, southern Kentucky, and northern Georgia. A team of over 5,000 doctors, nurses, administrative staff, engineers, and more, are challenged every day with providing health care for thousands of Veterans.

“We are VA Tennessee Valley, and it is our mission to provide world-class care to our Veterans,” said Daniel Dücker, TVHS Executive Director.

It is a mission that can only be accomplished by the best people.

I can make a difference

Motivated and dedicated are the two words that best describe Stark Hill. She is a licensed practical nurse, telehealth clinical technician and preceptor. She tackles all those jobs and more to support Veterans at the Chattanooga VA Clinic. She wheels and deals to provide care to Veterans in person and online through VA’s telehealth services. 

“I have sat in an appointment during a telehealth screening where I had a Veteran talking to me for 30 minutes about his life and the things he was going through,” she said proudly. “Now, my appointments normally take about 15 minutes, but if that's what he needs at that moment, I'm not going to rush him away because that's what he needed.”

Hill’s journey did not start in the halls of Chattanooga, nor was it Tennessee. In 2007, Hill was hired as a nursing assistant at the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center in Alabama. She worked in the geriatrics and extended care section. It was her first experience working with Veterans, which changed her perception of what she wanted to do with her life.

“Once I got in there, I realized I enjoyed what I did because I really enjoy taking care of people,” she said. “The more I did it, the more I enjoyed it.”

Hill's thirst for knowledge and adaptability have always driven her. When chosen by her nurse manager, she eagerly joined their team to receive training in hospice and palliative care at a conference in Atlanta. This experience led to her involvement in creating the first hospice unit at her medical center; a significant achievement for Hill and her co-workers. 

Working in hospice was another chance for her to grow in her understanding of taking care of others, though she noted there were challenges.

There were occasions a Veteran’s family began to argue in the Veteran’s room, and Hill would need to intervene because their argument would upset the Veteran. But the hardest situation was when a Veteran did not have any family, Hill said. In those unfortunate cases, she would sit with the Veteran and become their family as they transitioned. 

“[Hospice] is not for everybody, just like geriatrics is not for everybody. It really has to be a calling like mental health. I love those things, and I had those two things together – mental health and hospice – wrapped together,” she said.

While working at VA, Hill earned her nursing license. In 2011, she left VA to work in mental health care in the private sector. For nine years, Briggs gained invaluable experience as a nurse. Each patient interaction broadened her understanding of different medical needs and deepened her compassion for others. She may have physically left VA, but her commitment to supporting Veterans stayed with her.

“I just wanted to get back and finish my career in VA,” she said. “I started a mission to serve, and I wanted to finish that mission.”

She joined the Birmingham VA Medical Center in 2020. After about a year, she ventured north to join the team at Chattanooga VA Clinic in 2021. After returning to VA, Hill has worked in inpatient and telehealth as a nurse. 

Hill has a challenging job. She works with Veterans both in person and online through telehealth. This job requires someone with the right candor to communicate and support Veterans in ways they understand.

“Veterans may be going through something at home, getting here, or going through terrible traffic. They may have had horrible road rage, and [then] they get here, and they may be a few minutes late for their appointment,” she said listing the external factors that might impact a Veteran’s mood when they attend their appointment.

She promises that no matter what the Veterans have experienced outside of the building, when they walk in the door, they know they’re going to get Hill’s best.

“I go out there, and I call their name, and the first thing they're going to see is a smile,” Hill said with a matching smile. “I [tell] them that I know traffic was bad. It's OK that you are late. You made it, and that's all that matters.”

Hill has worked as a nursing assistant and nurse with hundreds of Veterans and patients. Time has not changed the smile and optimism she inspires in her co-workers and students. This passion began in Alabama and burns brightly in the halls of Chattanooga VA Clinic where she is proud to work.

“This is the only place I know I can come to work and make a difference,” she said.