From a Career Change to CNA of the Year

Employee Spotlight: Yolande Richmond, CNA, A.G. Rhodes DeKalb

A few years ago, Yolande Richmond decided it was time to try something completely different.

After spending several years in medical billing and other office-based roles, the pandemic shifted her work home. Two years of working remotely made something clear.

“I was just tired of being home. I wanted to interact with people,” she said.

Nursing had interested Yolande as a teenager, but she had never pursued it as a career. After spending time volunteering at a friend’s care home, she decided to revisit that interest. Yolande completed a training program to become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), and she applied for and accepted a job at A.G. Rhodes DeKalb. In the two and a half years she’s been working there, Yolande has made quite an impression. This year, she was named the community’s CNA of the Year.

“Yolande has made a big impact in a relatively short amount of time,” said Latasha Ward, Administrator at A.G. Rhodes DeKalb. “Her recognition as CNA of the Year is well deserved, and we’re excited to see her continue to grow as a leader.”

Yolande works primarily with elders receiving short-term rehabilitation, helping them prepare for therapy and encouraging them throughout their recovery. She says it’s incredibly rewarding to see residents make great strides after coming to A.G. Rhodes to recover from surgery, an injury, or a need to rebuild strength.

“The best part of my job is seeing a patient come in, and they’re lying in bed, they cannot walk, and then they walk out of the building with a walker. That’s my joy.”

She also encourages elders to get out of their rooms and participate in the community’s activities, eat in the dining room, and get to know others. Sometimes those connections have lasting results.

Yolande remembers two women who came to A.G. Rhodes and were roommates while receiving rehabilitation services. They got along so well that when both eventually transitioned to long-term care, they remained roommates. About a year later, they are still together and still close friends.

“The two of them just love each other,” Yolande said.

Building relationships is also one of the things that keeps Yolande motivated. She enjoys hearing elders’ stories and getting to know them as individuals.

“I prefer working with elders,” she said. “I try to get to know them, I like to hear their stories, and also, they are encouraging.”

Outside of work, Yolande is especially proud of her two children, whom she describes as “my everything and the reason I wake up every day.” Her daughter is a second-year nursing student at Georgia State University with plans to become a midwife, while her son graduated from Southwest DeKalb High School in May and is attending Atlanta Technical College to become an aviation mechanic.

As Yolande continues growing in a career, she is taking on professional development opportunities. She is currently participating in A.G. Rhodes’ Leadership Development Program on the clinical track and is also interested in participating in a new Physical Therapy Assistant Apprenticeship program at A.G. Rhodes.

For others considering a similar career change, Yolande acknowledges that caregiving can be challenging, but says the impact makes it worthwhile.

“It’s very rewarding because you’re making a difference in somebody’s life, whether you know it or not,” she said. “It is challenging, but the reward is always better at the end.”

August 2026