Vicki B. Harriman, RN, MSN, of Union has joined the staff of Quarry Hill as manager of The Terraces, the retirement community's traditional assisted living community program.

In a distinguished career spanning four decades, Harriman has combined a commitment to superior bedside care with a passion for guiding the next generation of professional nurses.

A respected presence on the front lines of patient care, she has worked as a staff nurse at Kno-Wal-Lin Home Care and Hospice and Maine General Medical Center in Augusta and, most recently, as staff and charge nurse in the medical/surgical and pediatric units at Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport.

She has also taught nursing, CPR, and related subjects at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, the University of Maine at Augusta, Kennebec Valley Technical College in Fairfield, Mid-Coast School of Technology in Rockland, Southern Maine Technical College in South Portland, and other schools and hospitals statewide.

Harriman's professional record includes numerous accomplishments. As patient care coordinator at Knox County General Hospital in the 1970s, she oversaw the transition of several of the hospital's specialty areas to the newly opened PBMC. Locally, she chaired PBMC's Adolescent Wellness Task Force while gaining a statewide reputation for a medication administration curriculum she authored for the Maine State Board of Nursing.

The Alna native holds a degree in nursing from Salem (Mass.) Hospital of Nursing, a bachelor's degree in vocational education from the University of Southern Maine, and a master's degree in nursing with an emphasis on community health, also from the University of Southern Maine.

Harriman said she became impressed with Quarry Hill while visiting her mother in the community's skilled nursing center.

"I was struck by the staff's dedication to family-centered care," she said. "From the social workers to the nurses to the therapy staff, everyone worked with me and my siblings to respect Mom's wishes for her final days."

As unit manager, Harriman said she aims to maintain that commitment, ensuring compassionate, family-focused care for all Terraces residents.