Employee Spotlight
Q. How long have you been working for SSCHS?
A. Since February 2002. I started off in the kitchen. I did about 14 years in the kitchen and then I did a few years in housekeeping and have been about 2 or 3 years in laundry.
Q. Can you describe what a typical work day is like for you?
A. I sort, I spray, and I wash! *Laughs. I wash the laundry and dry and fold and then I go and deliver clean linens to long-term care, emerge, activation, and acute. I also do the personals for long-term care residents, and bring them to their rooms. I try to keep everything in the right place, and I have a good system going. I work with Activation to make sure all the items are labelled. It's a busy job. I'm the only one in laundry. I'll get my co-workers the housekeepers to come and help me fold big sheets and blankets, but 90 per cent of the time it's just me. Mondays it's towels and sheets and tea towels. Personals I do them the rest of the week. Just the personals alone is a big job. I do laundry for 22 of the 24 residents. Before COVID, some families would pick up laundry and do it for their loved ones at home, but they can't do that now. You have to be organized and there's no messing around. You gotta go!
Q. Who do you interact with the most at work?
A. The housekeepers, and the kitchen is just across the hallway here. I get a glimpse of them once in a while. Then the residents I get to see when I go and deliver. I get to chit chat with them a bit, but you have to keep in mind that you're on a time schedule. When the washers and dryers are going I know I have that much time to go around and do my deliveries. I chit chat with the residents standing up!
Q. How would your co-workers describe you?
A. Crazy is the word. I like to laugh and have fun. I like to make people laugh. I think they'd call me goofy. I think that would be my nickname if they had one to choose.
Q. What's the best part about your job and working for SSCHS?
A. The people you meet and the friends you make. I also love the Wellness Committee. They do a phenomenal job. I lift my hat to them. They're working hard to keep our spirits up and I'm really grateful for that.
Q. What is one part of your job that might surprise people?
A. It doesn't look like a hard job, but it is. You're always doing something, you're folding or sorting or delivering. It's a very constant, physical job. It's not as easy as it looks.
Q. What made you decide to get into this field of work?
A. It was the kitchen. I wanted to be in the kitchen. I like the way they have routines. You know your menu ahead of time, you know how much you have to prepare. With this job I also have a routine. The difference is that in the kitchen they're on a strict, timed schedule. If you miss a step, or you're not on time, it puts everybody behind. In laundry, I can't put other co-workers behind, just myself. At the beginning, I was was more nervous about that, but now I have routine and I can relax a little more.
Q. What are some of your interests outside of work?
A. Fishing, hunting, camping, and relaxing. Going for walks. Curling. Spending time with family. That's the biggy. Also, cooking at home. I went to school for cooking for two years. I was one year in Ottawa and one year at Canadore College in North Bay. I love to cook with my daughter. She loves that.
