Meet Our Leaders

Dr. Ambreona Thomas, Medical Director

Dr. Thomas is an independent physiatrist with experience in both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation medicine. She completed her medical education at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. She then completed an internship in Internal Medicine in Florida before going on to complete her formal residency in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Sinai Hospital in Maryland.

Dr. Thomas is passionate about rehabilitation care and helping patients restore function and have good quality of life. She enjoys working with all populations and looks forward to serving rehab patients in the Lexington and surrounding areas

Nancy Martin, Director of Therapy

Nancy K Martin, OTR/L, CHT, MBA hails from North Carolina and brings more than 25 years’ experience in business and healthcare to Lexington Regional Rehabilitation Hospital. Her passion for the power of rehab began at an early age when her beloved grandmother suffered a debilitating stroke. Nancy’s greatest professional satisfaction comes from mentoring the development of therapists and collaborating as a team with patients and families to ensure the greatest possible quality of life for all involved.

Nancy graduated from the University of South Carolina in Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in psychology before completing her occupational therapy program at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. She earned her Masters of Business Administration at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina while working at Self Regional Healthcare in Greenwood, SC as an occupational therapist. She enjoyed her leadership positions in the rehabilitation department during her 19-year career there where she also gained experience in acute care, home health, outpatient therapy and work conditioning. She became certified in hand therapy by the Hand Therapy Certification Commission in 2000 and graduated from the Management Academy at the South Carolina Hospital Association in 2013.

Nancy relocated to Lexington in 2014 and worked at Lexington Medical Center as a manager in addition to an acute care and outpatient therapy provider. She started her own small business in Lexington, served as owner and operator eventually selling the business in 2021 after gaining valuable experience in the private sector.

Nancy and her husband, Michael, are residents of Lexington; enjoy travel, physical fitness and activities on Lake Murray; and have one adult son.

Favorite quote: “The man who says he can and the man who says he can’t are both correct.”
— Confucius

Tianna Pressley, Director of Pharmacy

Tianna has been a part of Ernest Health for the past two years. She has over 12 years of experience in field of pharmacy. She began her career journey as pharmacy technician while pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science at the University of South Carolina, which she completed in 2011. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy from South University in 2015. She later earned a Master of Health Administration in 2021 from the University of South Carolina. She has experience in various pharmacy setting to include retail, hospital, and home infusion. When Tianna is not working, she enjoys spending time with family and traveling with friends.

Celeste Mercer, Director of Marketing & Business Development

Celeste Mercer has been with Ernest Health since in 2020 when MRRH opened. Celeste started as a clinical rehab liaison, proudly serving our surrounding communities the communities of the Midlands. After 2 years with the company, Celeste transitioned into the role of DMBD for both MRRH and LXRRH.

Celeste is originally from Walterboro, SC, where she received her formal education and then graduated from SC State University with her BSN. Shortly after graduation, she moved to Columbia, SC, where she continues to reside with her husband and their three beautiful daughters.

Prior to working for Ernest Health, Celeste worked with Prisma Health for 19 years. There she started her career as a nurse tech and then nurse, where she worked on the med-surg neuro floor, in geriatric nursing, as a triage nurse as well as an enteral tube nurse with the nurse education department.
Celeste has a great love for her family, reading books, music, and crafting. She is grateful for the opportunity to be a leader to 2 great teams.

“As I transition into my new role as dual DMBD, my prayer is that my teams excel in growing our markets and extend our reach beyond our current territories.”

Kayla Jackson, MSN, RN, CMSRN, Director of Compliance

Kayla brings 10 years of nursing experience to her role, having served previously in an acute care hospital with experience in Medical Surgical Nursing, Infection Prevention, and Quality Improvement.

She works collaboratively with the team to assure that our patients receive safe and high-quality care through her oversight of quality and regulatory compliance in the hospital.

She earned her Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) from Midlands Technical College in 2013 and later earned her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree in Nursing Leadership and Management.

Jason Miller, Director of Facilities Management

Jason is from the midlands of South Carolina. He has been in facilities management for over 25 years, 18 of those in healthcare facilities.

Before joining our team he was Director of Facilities Management at our sister facility in Elgin. He oversees our emergency management and response, as well as the hospital’s safety program. Ensuring the facility runs safely and efficiently are his main priorities.

Lyn Smith, Director of Patient Outcomes

Lyn Smith earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Winthrop University in Business with a concentration in Health Care Administration. Lyn also holds a Master’s Degree from the University of South Carolina in Social Work. Lyn has spent most of her working career as a Medical Social Worker with Prisma Health Hospital tasked to work with the complex care patient population.

Lyn has been with Ernest Health since 2022. Lyn initially serving as a Clinical Liaison responsible for marketing and admissions. Lyn recently transitioned to the role of Director of Patient Outcomes. Lyn is excited to bring her work experience and unique skill set to the DPO role to aide in the overall success of Lexington Regional Rehabilitation Hospital.

Lyn is married to her high school sweetheart. They share a daughter and son together. Lyn loves to spend time with her family, read memoirs and travel.