Fast 15: Stuart Collier

Stuart Collier began his career in health care by washing dishes.

That was in 2006, after Collier graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Arkansas and applied for an administrator-in-training position at a local nursing home.

Rejected, he accepted an $8-an-hour kitchen job and spent the next six months proving his determination to break into the field.

Collier’s superiors eventually recognized his commitment and asked him to join the training program. Less than a year later, Collier was named interim administrator at North Hills Life Care and Rehabilitation in Fayetteville.

The Augusta native ultimately won the job and helped North Hills become the only facility in Arkansas to be recognized in U.S. News and World Report’s 2010 national rankings. These days, Collier is the administrator at Katherine’s Place at Wedington, a $10 million-plus skilled nursing facility that opened in August.

“If you show a certain level of commitment and perseverance, somebody’s eventually going to recognize that,” Collier said when asked why he accepted the kitchen job.

Collier’s passion for providing individualized care for the elderly is easily apparent. It’s also a result of his roots. His father is a doctor, his mother a nurse.

“This comes from me sitting in the hallways of Des Arc Nursing and Rehab while my dad did his rounds,” Collier said. “It’s never been uncomfortable for me.”

Instead, Collier’s mission is to make his residents’ lives as comfortable as possible. His vision at Katherine’s Place is to tailor each resident’s care to their wishes as much as their needs.

If that means allowing a retired farmer to get up for breakfast at 4:30 a.m., so be it.

“If you take care of the patient,” Collier said, “I promise you everything else takes care of itself.”

Collier oversees a staff of about 100 that includes 11 department heads. The resident population at the beginning of May was 82, with a total capacity of 107.

“Basically, I give my department heads the vision and the tools they need to be successful, and then I allow them to do that,” Collier said.

“I’ve been blessed to work with a ton of good people everywhere I’ve been, and my people are the ones that make me look good.”

An avid hunter and licensed real estate broker, Collier also is active in children’s programs at his church, largely due to the presence of his children, Presley, 6 and Estelle, 3.