The Eli Ripple Effect: Caring is What We at Juniper Village at the Spearly Center do Best!

The staff at the Spearly Center are a special bunch, and nowhere is that more evident than in our Environmental Services (ES) department.  No doubt the first image that comes to  mind when you think of  the Environmental Service staff of a nursing home is  men   laden down with tool belts filled with screwdrivers, hammers, flashlights and the like! But when I think about the ES staff at the Spearly Center, I think of three kindhearted individuals who view their jobs as more than just fixing a resident’s TV.  Rather, for them it means helping out each of our approximate 130 residents with compassion and care. 

Our department is headed by Mike “Tiny” Ladner.  Standing 6’6’’ inches tall and sporting a long beard, Tiny is anything but imposing.  Rather, he has the look of a large teddy bear, the inside of which houses a big heart.  You’d never know from the way Tiny walks the halls of our building, always stopping to say hello to a resident or spending five minutes talking to them, that he is always in demand, going from room to room fixing everything from a broken faucet to a malfunctioning light switch.    The residents, in turn, get a big kick out of calling him “Tiny, ”  as they thank him for all that  he does.    Always making sure those residents needs have been taken care of before he leaves for the day, Tiny roams the halls at eight most nights  to check one last time that nothing else needs to be fixed before he heads home.   “Aren’t you going home, Tiny?”  chimes in Robert, one of our residents.  To which he  replies, “Just checking to make sure you’re happy before I head out.”   

 

Tiny is assisted by Anthony and Josias.  All of them have a heartbeat on the special population that we serve.  “What we think of as little things aren’t little to our residents,” Anthony told me, referring to a time when he saw a dust ball in the corner of a resident’s room.  “I knew this little piece of dust could spur some scary images for individuals with mental health issues,” prompting him to sweep the room as quickly as possible.   And for all of them, they treat the residents as family.  As Anthony told me:  “Every time I get a room ready for a new resident, I always ask myself if I would feel comfortable putting my parents or grandparents in this room, for only then do I know the room is ready.” 

All three of them spoke of the appreciation they feel from residents, reminding them everyday that they are helping those in need.  Whether it is a relieved face that comes from reassuring a resident not to worry that his wheelchair accidentally hit the wall, or the outpouring of appreciation they receive when a resident tells them they made his day by the simple act of fixing his chair, they know the impact they have on residents is tremendous.  And when it comes to the resident’s appreciation for these three “cool and nice” men, one resident summed up the feelings of many here at the Spearly Center when she said, “This place wouldn’t be very good without the Environmental Service staff.”   

Tiny shared with me that the intrinsic satisfaction and joy he receives from connecting and helping the residents transcends the daily stress of his job. “It’s very heartwarming working with these residents, and something you can’t get at another job.”  So the next time you come visit us and see Tiny and his staff scurrying  from one job to another, please be sure and look beyond the tool belt, as you will see three very special compassionate team members.