Velvet Vanover

2024 Servant’s Heart Award Winner

Velvet, manager of Ballad Health’s clinical education department in the Northern Region, has made a lasting mark on clinical education in the region.

Velvet is a dedicated nurse who has held a variety of nursing and education positions in the last 40 years. In that time, she has given generously and sacrificially to her patients, her fellow team members and her profession in countless ways.

Over the years, Velvet has hired, oriented and trained many team members who continue to contribute to care at our hospitals and throughout the Appalachian Highlands.

She challenges her educators with accuracy, consistency and imaginative creativity as they weave their way through the everchanging world of nursing. She keeps up with the most current skills and educational information and encourages the use of technology, role play, case scenarios, hands-on experience and skill presentation in instruction and training.

She has also been involved with organizations outside the hospital setting that influence the educating of nursing students and the safety of vulnerable children.

With an immense wealth of knowledge, Velvet is an amazing source of information helpful to those in her department and beyond.

Integrity and compassion are ever-present in Velvet’s work, and she encourages, demonstrates and creates teamwork in those she works with.

Velvet’s work is guided by her Christian faith and her relationship with God. Her kindness, generosity and passion are captured through the sacrifice of time she gives beyond what her job description calls for. She daily cares for the educators within the department as if they were family.