At Concordia Lutheran Ministries, our employees are at the heart and hands of our mission – they care for our residents and patients with their hard work, kindness and empathy and keep our organization running with their leadership, vision and dedication.
Watching our amazing staff handle the unprecedented challenges of 2020 that continue into this year has been truly inspiring, so we chose to highlight just a few in our 2021 Concordia Calendar as a proclamation of gratitude for their many contributions. Though we wish there could be 3,000 pages in the calendar to feature all of our employees, this small sampling is representative of our extraordinary staff as a whole. Each month, we’ll introduce you to the talented, compassionate team members featured in our calendar.
January’s employees are Georgia Lindo-Lobban, resident services liaison, Ryan Willis, physical therapist assistant, Sonia Castro, home health aide, and Kerry-Ann Cummings, certified nursing assistant/med tech, from Concordia Village of Tampa. While Sonia could not participate in the interview this week, we hope to introduce you to her sometime soon!
Q: Why do you choose to work for Concordia?
Georgia: The joy of working with our residents! I’m also grateful for my unique position that became available to me while I was working in accounting, and I enjoy working for a good and well-known company.
Ryan: I choose Concordia because of the emphasis placed on patient and staff satisfaction. The benefits are also a plus!
Kerry-Ann: I chose to work for Concordia because there are many opportunities for growth as I embark on my career path into nursing.
Q: What aspects do you love most about your career?
Georgia: Working every day with the residents, helping and taking care of their needs and requests as needed.
Ryan: I love working directly with patients and seeing them progress as we work together. Helping a patient transition from total dependence on caregivers to returning home independently is why I continue in this career.
Kerry-Ann: The versatility of my career gives me the options of gaining new knowledge.
Q: How do you best serve your patients and residents?
Georgia: By listening and spending time with them.
Ryan: Beyond providing therapy interventions, I try to advocate for patients and help them navigate through the unfamiliar systems they now have to deal with. During treatment sessions we are able to give undivided attention to patients and can pass on information to nursing or social services that would sometimes be difficult to pick-up on during brief interactions.
Kerry-Ann: By simply being there for them.
Q: Can you tell us about a time you and/or your co-workers went above and beyond during the pandemic?
Georgia: We ordered a special lunch for our residents and everything came together to safely deliver the lunch to each resident apartment.
Ryan: The therapy team has had to be very flexible with how we provide treatments during the pandemic. We’ve adapted from treating patients with access to all of our equipment in the gym to treating patients in their rooms with little to no equipment or treating symptomatic COVID-19 positive patients on droplet precautions. The therapy team has consistently provided great functional outcomes and positive interactions for the patients in our care regardless of the circumstances.
Kerry-Ann: I personally choose to make myself visible to our residents. I want to be present if they need someone to talk to.
To learn more about the career opportunities at Concordia Village of Tampa, visit www.concordiacareers.org and select “Tampa.” To request a free copy of the 2021 Concordia Calendar, call the Public Relations Department at 724-352-1571, ext. 8268.
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