This week, we are honoring team members who were nominated for our North Star Leadership Award. We are also submitting those who were nominated to Aging Services Stars Among Us campaign.
As we continue to honor those individuals who were nominated for Welcome Home Management’s North Star Leadership Award, and who were submitted to the Stars Among Us campaign at Aging Services, we come to our fourth nominee.
Our third nomination and Star Among Us is Mickie. She is the Community Life Coordinator at Potter Ridge Assisted Living in Potter Ridge, Minnesota. This is her first nomination for the North Star Leadership Award.
Mickie was nominated by her fellow teammates at Potter Ridge. They said:
“I would like to nominate Mickey for this year’s award because she exemplifies what it means to be a leader. She is organized and has envisioned and made successful dreams of residents as well as her dreams for the residents.
She has the vision to look at the resident as a whole with the realization each human being needs much more than food, water, medication and sleep. The residents need to give of themselves, to share their gifts, to be of value. She recognized the strengths and desires of our residents, acknowledging that quality of life maintains the health of our residents.
Having her masters in Gerontaolgy has given her the insight and understanding of what the residents need and can do for an enriched life. She encouraged them to try new things and tells them they “can do it”. They listen to her and trust her.
Her leadership skills are a great asset to Potter Ridge and we are blessed to have her as part of our team!”
Inspire – What inspires you to serve older adults? Is there a mentor or fellow caregiver who motivates or helps you? What keeps you going on tough days?
“For many years I have been serving older adults, volunteering and working areas of care giving for the elderly. I was a primary caregiver for my mother and father before they died, and I guess I feel that they have inspired me to continue finding ways to encourage the elderly to stay active physically and mentally. What keeps me going on tough days is first my faith in the Lord and second, realizing that I have the fortune of knowing so many 80 t0 90 year old people that have been through a lot more tougher times than I will ever know.”
Serve – What does a career serving older adults mean to you? What is the most meaningful or rewarding part of your job? The most challenging?
“As a gerontologist, I have chosen the career of serving older adults. My current job is to provide activities for the residents at Potter Ridge. I use each day as a learning experience and I am using this experience to enrich my educational goals as a future Doctor of Human Services. The most challenging part of this job is having to say goodbye to my friends that have lived at Potter Ridge because they have either passed away or moved to another facility because of health deterioration.”
Advocate – What do you advocate for? What do you want public policy makers to know about the work you do?
“I am currently advocating for a Senior Playground to be built in one of our parks in Red Wing. The Red Wing Area Seniors, Inc. and the Red Wing Public Works Dept. are both supporting my efforts in attaining a grant from one of the local foundations to be able to afford buying the playground equipment that is specifically designed for the elderly.”
Mickey has been an inspiration since joining the team at Potter Ridge and Welcome Home Health Care. All of us at Potter Ridge and at Welcome Home congratulate her on her nomination.
For the past three years, Welcome Home has honored an individual that shows leadership abilities in their community or in the organization with the North Star Leadership Award. The North Star Leadership Award winner will be announced at Welcome Home’s Annual Winter Conference on February 23rd. Watch for more details on our live presentation as our conference date approaches.
Roman Bloemke, Director of Operations
Leave a Reply