Having worked for Engineering Consulting Organizations for most of my career, I thought that move to Epoch Elder Care as an Administration Manager would be fairly similar to my previous experiences. However, slowly I realized and felt that working in an Engineering domain and an Elder Care facility is entirely different. Here at Epoch, it is not just working for the department, but getting involved in an Elder's daily activities directly or indirectly, which involves its fair share of emotions as well! I have noticed how everyone at Epoch is involved in taking care of our elderly residents. I have seen the joy in their eyes when they do their bit in making the elders happy. Be it the care staff who help them with their daily activities, the Facility Managers and nurses who plan out their fun activities, or the kitchen staff who always plan out their nutritious meals. In addition to it, our CEO and Head of Clinical Operations are also involved in minutely monitoring their health and overall stay.
Even though Epoch is a small organization, I was pleasantly surprised by the way it functions day to day and how things are managed and planned at granular levels. While working at Epoch, I never feel like I’m restricted to any particular department, but rather part of Team Epoch. This feeling of being ‘one' has been made possible by the efforts of every individual invested in supporting the organization in such a way that they can confidently overcome any kind of hurdles. Everyone here is supportive of each other’s work, and this, you do not get to feel in every organization.
As a member of the administration team, our work is in a way ensuring upkeep of the hardware (environment) of care whereas the clinical aspect can be called the software. The physical environment is equally important for the overall well-being of our residents, where we have to ensure their safety through features like appropriate placing of grab bars, strategically placed handrails throughout our home, anti skid treatment and many more. Apart from this, we also have to be mindful about things like the type of furniture and upholstery we chose for our residents. For example, we ensure that the curtains or sofa upholstery or bed sheets should not have patterns which may be confusing for our residents with dementia. Our work has to be well thought through and evidence based much like the clinical aspect.
Chit-chatting whenever I meet our residents in the hallway, or their rooms, or in the lawn brings a smile to my face as it does to theirs. The motivation that keeps me going here every day is a part of me that believes no elderly should be troubled or left to feel uncomfortable for even the shortest period of time. To achieve that is a wholesome feeling for me.
