Almonte staff member does it all
Monday September 10, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
Sylvia Monette is somewhat of a jack of all trades at Almonte Country Haven.

Monette, who has been a member of the OMNI team for the past year and a half, works in activities, helps in the kitchen, works on the floor, as well as occasionally undertakes housekeeping duties.

“And if there were more (jobs), I’d take them too,” she says.

Before joining the staff, Monette served as a volunteer at the Almonte long-term care home while her mother was a resident.

Her interest in the care sector began when Monette was a young girl. But instead of becoming a nurse or a health-care aide, Monette’s career path took her to the marketing and high-tech sectors.

But after 19 years, she felt she needed a change.

While visiting her mother, Monette had an epiphany. She would take notice of the home’s staff tending to residents and this renewed her interest in working in the care sector.

“I said, ‘You know what, I’m going to try for this,’” she recalls.

Monette will soon be taking a management course through OMNI. She says she hopes to take the skills she harvested from working in marketing and transfer them to the long-term care sector. Her goal is to eventually work as part of OMNI’s management team.

For anyone considering a career in the health-care sector, Monette highly recommends working in long-term care. High school, college or university students interested in long-term care should definitely try volunteering at a long-term care home, she adds.

“You just become so attached to the residents and you just can’t do enough to see that smile,” she says.

Rick Gourlie, Almonte’s administrator, says Monette is a valuable asset to the home’s staff. She is also popular with residents, he adds.

“She truly has a (talent) for working with residents and they respond very well to her,” says Gourlie.

And what is it Monette likes best about her job?

“Every day when I see someone smiling or they just look up at you with that little grin, and man, you just think ‘That’s why I’m here,’” she says.