Aug 1, 2020
Last week I had the opportunity of interviewing Commissioner Victoria Elridge with the CHFS Department for Aging and Independent Living (DAIL). It’s not often that you meet someone who knew what they wanted do at an early age. As a store cashier in her teens, Victoria connected with a special needs child which launched her journey to become an occupational therapist. This led to a bachelor’s degree in occupational science and a masters in occupational therapy from EKU. Commissioner Elridge’s clinical experience includes working with amputees, non-brain injury trauma, spinal cord injuries, dementia, joint replacements and burns. In the podcast we discuss the importance of human validation, and giving people the power to set their own goals. Victoria and her husband Colmon have three bi-racial children. In the current atmosphere of racial trauma, Victoria assures CHFS employees “It’s OK not to be OK”, and stresses the importance of checking in on one other. She says casual discussions can be followed by deep conversations because “If we don’t do it, who will”? Victoria started her job two weeks after the COVID-19 epidemic and shares the lessons she’s learned from the pandemic, and who her greatest hero is when it comes to advocacy. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did. -- Victoria Elridge is the commissioner of the Department for Aging and Independent Living (DAIL) in the KY Cabinet for Health and Family Services. A licensed occupational therapist, she was diagnosed with epilepsy as a child which empowered her to pursue a career in health service. Elridge has spent her career working in state government and providing client-centered occupational therapy services to individuals of all ages. As the DAIL deputy commissioner in the administration of Gov. Steve Beshear she worked to ensure public services for Kentucky’s seniors and people with disabilities supported independent living through contract negotiations, revising and updating state regulations and overseeing the state guardianship program. Most recently, Elridge worked as an occupational therapist for EasterSeals Society Cardinal Hill Pediatric Therapy Clinic, a non-profit organization in Lexington, KY. She received specialized training in pediatric neurodevelopment, autonomic nervous system regulation and fragile infant feeding and used that expertise to further address feeding difficulties and delayed developmental milestones in infants and toddlers at the clinic. Previous clinical experience includes helping amputees gain independence and working with patients with non-brain injury trauma, spinal cord injuries, joint replacements and burns. Additionally, she developed and implemented a client-centered dementia program for an inpatient rehabilitation facility. Commissioner Elridge grew up in Louisville, KY and is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University where she earned a bachelors degree in occupational science and a masters in occupational therapy. She currently resides in Georgetown, KY with her husband, Colmon Elridge (III) and their three sons, Colmon (IV), Carter and Camden. They have a divided household where she loudly cheers for the Louisville Cardinals and her husband and three sons cheer for the Kentucky Wildcats.