Demps celebrates 25 years at Life Care Center of Sparta

Life Care Center of Sparta has stood tall as a pillar of the community for over 25 years, but what is lesser known is the woman that has stood right alongside it, almost from the very beginning.

Stacey Demps has reached her 25-year anniversary of working at Life Care. She saw the very first patient come through the doors, worked her way from assistant director of nursing to director of nursing and even scrubbed the toilets right before the building ever opened.

For Demps, she could not imagine her career without Life Care. Graduating from Tennessee Tech, in 1999, she worked at another establishment for about a year before getting word about Life Care. She applied and was quickly added on as the assistant director nursing. After only two years, she was promoted to the director of nursing.

“I think long-term care is a calling because it’s not an easy job,” she said. “This company has blessed me to always provide for the residents.”

Life Care’s administrator, Justin Freeman, agreed with her, adding, “It’s a Christian company, too, and you really see that in the way they operate.”

Freeman later added in remark to Demps and her work at the facility, “She is a true born leader. She’s the glue that holds this place together, really. She will stick beside you through it all.”

Demps still sees many more years ahead of her at Life Care Center, and she has no plans to leave anytime soon. Having raised up some of her younger children at the facility at times, as well as her dog that everyone loves, Life Care is like a second home for her.

While she has been “the glue” as Freeman put it, Demps did not want all the credit put on her.

“We have the best team,” she said. “It’s amazing what we can do here. Sure, we have great individuals that can do a lot, too, but when we work together, it’s just amazing what we can do for the patients.”

After 25 years of service to Life Care, something she knows Sparta appreciates and needed, Stacey Demps has been grateful for the chance to serve the patients here.

She finished with, “I’ve enjoyed it all, the very first patient. Watching the staff grow. Surviving Covid was huge for us, too. I am proud to be a part of a team to serve White County.”