PSW shares love of her job with children
Tuesday September 11, 2007 -- Michelle Strutzenberger
Personal Support Worker (PSW) Dawn Shaw enjoys working with the elderly at Streamway Villa and she’s passing on that love to her children.

Shaw’s two daughters, aged nine and six, like to come with their mother to the long-term care home on occasion and spend some time there.

“They love coming in and talking with the residents,” says Shaw, noting her eldest, Serena wrote a speech several years ago about why she enjoys being with the elderly and presented it to her class.

The OMNIway published an article about the speech in which Serena encouraged her classmates to get out and visit the elderly. “Remember when you’re not doing anything, go visit your grandparents and give them lots of love, hugs and kisses and it will make them very happy,” she said.

Since that time, Serena’s class has visited the home on several occasions, making cards and singing with the residents at Christmas and helping out with the gardening in the summer months.

Shaw’s younger daughter, Kylie, especially enjoys helping out during the home’s Happy Hour in which time treats and snacks are distributed to the residents.

Shaw has been working at Streamway for about seven years.

She had completed a co-op placement there in high school and enjoyed it so much that, four years later, and after she had completed the necessary training, she applied to return as a PSW.

Her job entails assisting the residents with a range of things like toileting, dressing, bathing, and feeding. She also reads their letters to them and plays games with them, if time allows.

Shaw says most days are quite hectic with trying to get everything done, but she likes to squeeze in time for giving residents some personal attention.

The best part of her job, in fact, is interacting with the residents, she says, and “seeing them smile.”

She remembers a time when a particular resident was upset and anxious, saying she needed to get to a grocery store. Shaw found some grocery items, including a loaf of bread, apples, and an onion, from the home’s kitchen and set them up on a table. This satisfied the resident, who placed them in a grocery bag Shaw had given her.

“She thought that was great,” says Shaw. “It really helped her calm down.”

Shaw keeps her eyes open for small ways such as these to make a resident’s day a little brighter, and when she does, she finds the greatest reward her job has to offer – “seeing them smile.”