By Greg Miller

Star Correspondent

Debbie Street has provided service to the community for 29 years through her job at Signature Health Care of Elizabethton Rehab & Wellness Center.

Street was promoted to CEO in 2007. Prior to her promotion, Street was the Assistant Administrator/Human Resources Director.

Getting “smiles and hugs from the residents” is the most enjoyable aspect of Street’s job. “I love to hear their life stories,” she said. “They love to share them and you can learn some fascinating things.”

The most challenging part of the job is “giving the residents all the choices that you can and still adhere to government regulations.”    

Street’s day to day job duties include being in charge of the overall operations of the facility. She provides direction “in accordance with customer needs, government regulations and company policies with focus on maintaining the best care for the residents.”

Street believes prayer is her greatest coping skill when a job-oriented problem arises. “I can’t imagine handling any problem without God’s help to lead and guide your decisions,” she said.

A positive attitude and a good frame of mind play “huge” roles in the performance of her job. “You have to stay positive, you’re dealing with the elderly who have come to a place in life where they need someone to take care of them, who they can trust and to give them the best quality of life possible. They deserve that.”

Street’s number one job-related goal is “to provide the best possible place for our residents to live and our stakeholders to work. Signature Health Care has a vision to lead radical change across the healthcare landscape to transform lives. Our Quality of Life program encompasses things like resident vacations to Disney World, Senior Olympics, senior proms, taking them fishing, picnics and maybe just going out for lunch.”

Street worked in the payroll department at American Air Filter for two years.

A Unaka High School graduate, Street attended Tennessee Technology School and ETSU at Bristol.

If Street hadn’t chosen her current career path, she says she would have wanted to pursue a career as an early education teacher. “I also love to work with children to watch them learn and grow,” she remarked.

During her working career, Street says she has learned the following: “Always do what’s right and of course the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’”

Street’s husband, Joel Street Sr., is retired and serves as the Music Minister of Milligan Free Will Baptist Church. “We live on a farm and that keeps him busy also,” said Street, who serves as the children’s church director at the church, where the couple attends worship services.

In addition to her work at the church, Street serves on the Elizabethton/Carter County United Way Board, the Tennessee College of Applied Technology LPN, CNA and Dietary Advisory Boards.

The Streets’ son, Joel Jr., attended Elizabethton High School and graduated from East Tennessee State University. He works at Carter County Bank. He is married to the former Amber Flint, who is a Registered Nurse with Ballad Health. The couple’s daughter, Kendria, received her B.A. degree from Northeast State and now attends ETSU, where she hopes to receive a degree in Early Childhood Education. She is employed at the Johnson City Boys and Girls Club.

The Streets have two granddaughters, Makenzie and Chloe Street, who attend Cloudland Elementary School.

Spare time activities include “spending time with family and friends, watching my granddaughters play sports, riding motorcycles through the Blue Ridge Mountains and enjoying nature.”