Making compassion and love a first impression
Pamela Jax is the first face new residents, or as she likes to call them, “guests,” meet when they enter SKLD’s Livonia facility. As admissions director there, she knows that first impressions set the stage for residents’ entire stay and therefore is sure to go above and beyond the call of duty.
The senior community was close to Pamela’s heart even before she consciously knew skilled nursing was her passion and life’s mission. Pamela shares, “I always had a love for working with seniors, for the stories and wisdom they would share with me.”
She admits her passion began as early as middle school when her church group would visit nursing home residents without families. “Some people were uncomfortable, but I felt at home. I was so comfortable with them even back then; it was what I was meant to do.”
Taking care of father to residents
Pamela served as a stay-at-home mother for 16 years and then began to attend community college to study medical billing and coding. At the time this was a popular career endeavor, and there was a long wait.
While waiting, Pamela applied for a job as a part-time receptionist at a doctor’s office. Shortly after, Pamela became the office manager, where she remained for five years until she began working as an activities assistant for one year in a senior community.
Pamela left her position as an activities assistant to care for her father. She found purpose in taking care of her father who needed assistance. Once he was settled in an assisted living facility, the experience solidified that her place was working with the senior community.
She worked in a senior community for four more years until she accepted her current position at SKLD Livonia.
Loving connections with skilled nursing families
Pamela always makes it a point to reach out to families of prospective residents to describe all that the SKLD Livonia community offers. The team does everything they can to make residents feel welcome and at home.
Pamela says,
“Whoever is coming into this building is a part of our family. We do all we can to show them we are doing our best to keep their loved ones safe.”
For new residents, there is a 14-day quarantine in place to keep new and old residents safe as well as the staff. Pamela says, “To make this an easier transition, we have been encouraging families to do window visits and video calls.
Putting the ‘giver’ in caregiver
Pamela attributes her success in her position to the fact that she sincerely gets joy from giving to others, a trait shared by the most beloved of skilled nursing caregivers. Pamela says,
“I’m a giver, not a taker. I enjoy giving to residents whether they are here short-term or long-term.”
She makes an effort to encourage residents and to be extra compassionate. Pamela shares, “I love getting to put a smile on someone’s face, even if that smile is just with my eyes these days.”
Now with COVID-19 precautions, one of the biggest challenges is not having the residents’ families come in to see their loved ones. “It’s really a challenge for all of us, but as much as we can, we try to go that extra mile to do whatever we can to be accommodating for life on the inside and outside of the facility,” says Pamela.
“Some residents don’t have families who visit, so we take on that role of family. I have a connection with everyone in this building.”
Every act in skilled nursing can be an act of kindness
Sometimes connections with residents come in the form of grand gestures, such as the recent holiday gift exchange with residents and staff. It was a little different than past years because of COVID-19 precautions, but it still made a great impact.
Pamela describes the gift exchange, “We had a board up at the lobby with each resident’s name. I was paired with a gentleman who I had a strong connection with from day one. Normally, I sit up at the front office and whenever I come back to visit the residents, he jokingly asks, ‘Who let you out of your cage?’ When he opened his present he said, ‘If I could take off my mask and give you a kiss I would!’ I felt like I did something great. And he made my day!”
Pamela strives to make a positive impact each and every day, whether it’s something big like a gift exchange, or just a chat with a resident. Pamela says, “I’m here to share myself with everyone and to make sure they have a great day.”
Once, a younger resident came in who had a tracheostomy and couldn’t speak much, though she communicated through blinking. Pamela made sure to always check on her daily. “I always told her how beautiful she was and would ask her if the aides did her makeup and hair before I got in there to get a smile out of her. Those small things made such an impact on her.”
Connections at SKLD
Pamela says she feels a strong connection to SKLD because “SKLD isn’t afraid of taking on challenging cases. Other facilities I’ve worked at would refuse patients because of behavioral or insurance differences, but here we are always looking past that to see how we could make it possible and accommodating for everyone.”
Pamela also finds sharing some of her hobbies with residents helps build strong bonds. With residents who are veterans, Pamela shares that she is a mom of three boys, two of which are Marines, and the other is a firefighter in Los Angeles. She also shows pictures of her 15-year old Yorkie, who is a bit of a brat.
“My residents know I’m a joker and that I like to make light of difficult situations to bring hope and humor. Getting to see a smile on their faces makes my day,” says Pamela.
Through compassion, care and smiles, Pamela is making a huge difference in the lives of her residents on a daily basis.