Victoria Schwarten, a board-certified family nurse practitioner, has established Victorious Prestige Wellness & Advocacy and the Victorious Prestige Foundation in Valparaiso. Schwarten founded these organizations to provide comprehensive healthcare and address identified gaps in community services, particularly for individuals with disabilities and their families. Her decision to locate in Valparaiso was driven by the community's strong local support.
The Victorious Prestige Foundation operates as a nonprofit charitable organization. Its work focuses on community health education, advocacy, disability inclusion, prevention, and creating opportunities for individuals and families who encounter barriers to community participation. Schwarten stated that the foundation's programs integrate health education, inclusion, activity, socialization, and community involvement in ways accessible to people with different abilities. She aims for her work to extend beyond traditional medical settings, building partnerships within Valparaiso, Porter County, and Northwest Indiana to enhance access to health, education, recreation, and community involvement.
Schwarten's clinical practice through Victorious Prestige allows her to deliver primary and preventative healthcare, alongside wellness services and individualized care. She articulated her belief that effective healthcare encompasses more than diagnosing illnesses and prescribing medications. She champions education, prevention, active listening, understanding patients' daily lives, and assisting them in navigating their healthcare options. Schwarten's approach to healthcare is informed by her personal experiences, including navigating chronic conditions and disabilities within her own family. Her daughter, born prematurely, has experienced complex medical and developmental needs, providing Schwarten with extensive personal insight into the healthcare system. This experience includes navigating inpatient and outpatient care, specialists, therapies, insurance, and disability programs, which Schwarten described as navigating "nearly every level of the healthcare system." She noted that even with her healthcare background, the process was difficult, making her aware of the challenges for patients and families without medical training.
Schwarten has a wide professional background, having worked in primary care, urgent care, occupational medicine, geriatrics, hospice, chronic disease management, in-home healthcare, and care management. These diverse roles, combined with her experience as a parent, have shaped her perspective on healthcare and exposed her to various perspectives. These experiences, along with personal challenges, led her to establish Victorious Prestige, recognizing where patients needed support beyond just medical treatment.
Schwarten, a lifelong resident of Northwest Indiana, grew up in Griffith and Hammond. She attended Ivy Tech Community College in Gary and Valparaiso, earning her Associate of Science in Nursing from the Valparaiso campus. She continued her education at Indiana Wesleyan University, where she received both her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing degrees. She selected Valparaiso as the home for Victorious Prestige because of its "strong sense of community," noting a balance of growth and local support. She observed a genuine desire among local individuals, organizations, businesses, and community leaders to improve Northwest Indiana. She also highlighted the personal meaning of inclusion as a family that has experienced disability and the need for accessible community opportunities.
Schwarten is currently developing a new healthcare model through Victorious Prestige. She identifies a significant community need for healthcare services, especially for individuals with disabilities, those with special healthcare needs, and their caregivers. She believes that healthcare advocacy extends beyond routine medical concerns such to whether someone can access appropriate care, understand their options, participate in their community, obtain needed services, and successfully navigate systems that were not always designed with disability in mind. This new model is expected to continue to evolve as she learns more about what individuals, families, caregivers, and the community require. For Schwarten, the core purpose of this model is to understand what affects the health and quality of life for those needing healthcare services.
Outside of her professional endeavors, Schwarten enjoys spending time with her family, creating new opportunities, and participating in activities that bring people together. She finds satisfaction in developing new ideas, meeting new people, being involved, and seeing families engage in these experiences. Schwarten encourages aspiring healthcare professionals to approach their careers step-by-step, stating that each degree, position, challenge, and experience offers valuable lessons. She also advises never to underestimate what patients and families teach, emphasizing the importance of listening alongside clinical knowledge.
