'I enjoy making people comfortable'
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 -- Craig Anderson
After working the night shift as a registered practical nurse (RPN) for five years at Riverview Manor, Lori Wallace gladly accepted a new position – clinical care co-ordinator – in an environment she enjoys for its "home setting."

Lori, 26, chose long-term care because of the unique type of nursing it requires.

“I enjoy making people comfortable and providing them with a home setting.”

Lori’s own experience with two of her grandparents in the early 1990s, both of whom had Alzheimer disease, familiarized her with care for elderly with dementia. OMNI staff education into dementia issues has changed her perspective, too.

“I understand it a lot better, now,” she says.

The care her grandparents received – one was in a secure unit in Barry’s Bay – differed greatly from the supportive, behavioural management approach offered in current individualized care provision.

“Long-term care offers a totally different environment now,” says Lori.

Lori is also excited about the more user-friendly hours.

“Now I actually get be at home with my husband,” says Lori.

“He was working days and I was on nights so it was very difficult for us to see each other.”

The clinical care co-ordinator position – less physically intensive than her RPN work – involves assisting the director of care in admissions, making rounds with the home’s doctor, ordering medications and supplies and assisting on the floor when necessary. Riverview Manor has also recently hired a 25-year veteran of long-term care, Julie Ross, to fill a long vacant director of care position.

The one transition that has been slightly difficult, says Lori, is moving into a managerial position overseeing the nursing staff she was recently a member of. Instilling former co-worker confidence in her new job capacities will likely take some time, she adds.

“I am still the same nurse I was before,” she says.

In the future, however, Lori would like to expand her nursing expertise and receive a registered nurse diploma. The costs of returning to school in the immediate future would be too prohibitive, however.

“It’s my goal to stay in this position, too, and to remain in long-term care,” she adds.

“I have made a lot of friends here and it is like a home – you feel like you’re part of a family.”