Making a difference
is what LTC’s all about: HCA
Thursday, October
6, 2005 -- Natalie Miller
While working in maintenance at a psychiatric
institution, Eddy Pigeon came to enjoy talking
to the residents who lived at St. Lawrence
Estate.
He decided to trade in his tools for textbooks
and train to become a health care aide. He
joined Woodland Villa when it opened 20 years
ago when the residents of St. Lawrence Estate
moved into the Long Sault long-term care home.
He hasn’t looked back.
“By going into the nursing department,
I get to know them even better,” says
Eddy.
“I enjoy my work a lot.”
He says it’s rewarding because residents
express their appreciation for the little
things he does like offer them a snack or
take them for a walk spontaneously. “I
think it makes them feel important. It makes
them feel better about themselves. It’s
a big adjustment for a lot of them, coming
in to the home.”
“For a lot of people, it’s their
last stage of life. If I can make it comfortable
for them…that’s my reward also.”
Eddy says it isn’t difficult to become
attached to the residents, particularly those
who don’t have family. “For some
of them (staff) is the only family they have.”
Being a male in a female-dominated environment,
doesn’t bother Eddy who grew up seven
sisters. He says, in fact, it sometimes has
its advantages. He connects better with some
of the male residents who listen to him because
they associate him with a doctor because he’s
male, he explains.
In the case of one male resident, Eddy is
the only one who can transfer the man out
of his wheelchair without using a lift. The
man’s family invited Eddy along recently
on a picnic to the man’s hometown. Eddy
says the man was clearly emotional as he watched
the boats go through the lock, something the
resident once did with his granddaughters.
Eddy says he’s glad he had the opportunity
to experience the outing with the resident.
“A lot of us are in this business because
we want to be.” Eddy says he’s
in the field to “make a difference”
in the lives of the residents he supports.
