When things were changing daily, Amanda was a pillar of strength for her staff of 34 caregivers. “I knew they were scared for our residents and for themselves, but we didn’t show it. We came to work every day. We implemented protocols early on and stood by them. I believe we truly rose to the occasion in a crisis. We did the best we could,” said Amanda.
Amanda’s number one rule in training new staff is to care for people. She stresses that you can learn medication management, transferring and all the other technical aspects of the job. But you cannot learn care. You either have it or you don’t.
Trust and Support of Families
The trust and support of the residents’ families helped Amanda and her team stay strong. “Sometimes I had to have exceedingly difficult conversations with families, and it was hard. But they always showed love and support. Even when we could not allow any visitors in and residents could not socialize with each other, we made sure no one felt isolated,” said Amanda.
Working and living through a crisis made Amanda even more grateful for her family and homelife. “Every night, I could not wait to see my daughter, Emersyn, and give her a big hug. Life is fragile, but we learned a lot and hopefully there is more confidence in science now. I am glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.
