Reprinted from The Daily News
By Polly McMullin, News Editor
February 27, 2010

Lisa Cirignano feels 'connected' at Westminster Woods

The late Mary Hudy suggested to Lisa Cirignano that she memorize her math lessons when the was instructing young Lisa at Huntingdon Area High School.

Mrs. Hudy's reason for her advice? She told Lisa she would probably not need the math lessons for the field of employment she would someday enter. Her Prediction?

"She told me I would be in human services," Lisa recalled as she sat in her office at Westminster Woods in Huntingdon.

Lisa Cirignano had the opportunity to see her former teacher years later when Mrs. Hudy was in need of nursing home care before she went back to her own home in her final days.

"See. I told you you would work in this field someday," Mrs. Hudy told her former student. Lisa now serves as director of marketing and admissions at Westminster  Woods.

"I am the first person they talk to" - family, physicians and others who are helping someone find care, Lisa said. "Every phone call is important. Every resident we admit, every person we discuss is someone's favorite person."

Lisa graduated from HAHS in 1986. Her father, Ram Cirignano was a teacher at Huntingdon and her mom, Toni, was also a teacher who later became a nurse. They are both retired and live in Huntingdon. Lisa's brother, Nick, is an attorney in Evansville, Ind., and is the father of triplets, two boys and a girl.

Lisa attended Robert Morris College in Pittsburgh for two years. After graduation from there, she considered nursing school and took certified nursing assistant training for nine months.

While working in a facility in Sewickley, she was asked to be the rehabilitation director. She did the job for 10 years until a change in her personal family life caused her to decide the Pittsburgh area was not home for her and her sons, Nick and Zach, now 16 and 19, respectively.

"The boys and I came home in 1999," Lisa said. She found employment in the administrative staff at Meadowview Manor, then came to Westminster Woods in 2007. After a one-year period at Woodland in Orbisionia, a sister facility, Lisa came back to the "Woods" where she and her brother played in the wooded area when they were kids, before the retirement and personal care village was built.

"I am glad to be home. I feel lucky to be here," Lisa said, explaining that she never thought she would find the same kind of work she enjoyed so much in Pittsburgh.

She said the standards are high at Westminster Woods because all of the staff has a role, housekeeping, laundry, building and grounds, nursing, and they all take pride in it.

"Debbie (administrator Barefoot) sets the standard and others follow," Lisa said. Westminster Woods has options - independent living, assisted living, nursing and short-term rehabilitation.

She said finding a facility is a personal thing and families call for guidance. She gives them options and, if she can't help them there, she gives them directions to the next step.

Lisa's grandmother was a resident of Woodland for two and one-half weeks before she passed away. Lisa was working there and saw how important it was from the other side of the desk to help families in their time of need.

"Every family has a story. It is important to listen," Lisa said. I feel I am doing what I was meant to do. I have no doubt."

Huntingdon is home to Lisa and her sons. Zach is heading for further education in the nursing field, having realized his options while working part time in dietary at Westminster Woods. Nick plays football at HAHS and she supports him by attending all games. Nick's mom says she likes the connection with people she knows, former teachers, friends of the family.

"I feel safe here. I am a hometown girl and I like knowing everyone. I like to feel connected."

Lisa suggests that anyone who wishes to find out more about careers in the human services or personal care facility fields should call her at 644-2057 to visit, or try job shadowing, a senior project or volunteering.

"It is a versatile field with many options," she said.