“I am so honored to be chosen,” Mason cried when she was told of the award. “If it wasn’t for these guys [the veterans] we wouldn’t have a job. They are my first priority when I come to work. If they need something, it is our job to make sure it gets done.”

“Our nurses at the New Jersey Veterans Home are dedicated to the veterans who reside at our facility,” said Joe Romano, chief executive officer. “They are on the frontlines to insure the quality of care and the quality of life of our residents on a 24-hour basis.”

“I like things to be done the way they are supposed to be done, and in a timely manner,” said Mason, who is described by her coworkers as tough but always compassionate. “We are a team - I don’t ask the staff to do what I am not willing to do.”

“She has worked diligently to improve the overall operation of the Unit,” said Ms. Carmen Ellis-Jackson, assistant director of nursing. “She has improved communication between staff and maintains a professional relationship with both residents and staff. [Mason] continues to seek new ideas to improve and enhance the quality of life for our resident population and keeps abreast of changing policies and procedures. She can often be found assisting nurses aides in their daily functions, including providing on-site in-service training as needed. She is a dedicated and conscientious employee whose main objective is the care and well-being of our residents.” 

Mason currently working as the head, or charge, nurse on Unit 1-B during the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift. Her recent shift from evening work to days allows Mason to spend more time with her family: her high-school sweetheart and husband Kevin and their three children Quianna, 12, Lanay, 5, and Victoria, 2. 

“I never thought I’d be a nurse. I had dreams of being in the Olympics. I ran for Vineland High [School] and set a few records,” Mason explained. She worked evenings at the Veterans Memorial Home while attending school during the day. She became a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at the Vineland Nursing Program and a RN at Gloucester County Community College. “They really accommodated my [education] schedule,” Mason said. “I have plans of going back to school again and getting my masters, at Rutgers or the University of Delaware.”

The New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home at Vineland celebrated their centennial January 2000. On January 2, 1900, The New Jersey Soldiers Home for Disabled Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and their Wives and Widows (the home’s original name) opened its doors in Vineland. 

Today the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home at Vineland is one of three veteran nursing homes operated be the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (NJDMAVA). The residents receive around-the-clock medical and nursing care, rehabilitative and recreational services, special dietary service and other amenities. 

New Jersey, the first state to establish a facility for disabled war veterans, opened the New Jersey Solider Home in Newark on July 4, 1866, to care for disabled Civil War veterans. The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs currently operates three veteran homes with 950 beds. The facilities, all located near major roadways, are in Menlo Park, Paramus and Vineland. NJDMAVA encourages qualified veterans in need of long-term care to apply now.

"One of the most difficult decisions a family must make involves the realization that a family member requires the care that often only a nursing home can provide,” said Deputy Commissioner for Veterans Affairs Col Emil Philibosian. “Just as daunting is the determination of the most appropriate nursing home for the family member as regards standards and levels of care, cost and proximity. For New Jersey's veterans, our state provides the best of care at our Veterans Memorial Homes, located conveniently in Paramus, Menlo Park and Vineland. Our veterans are urged to make application as early as possible in order to avail themselves of this remarkable resource."

For more information on New Jersey's Veterans Memorial Homes or for an application call 609-530-6766.