As a young woman, I never really had a passion. I’ve had interests, been in love, enjoyed activities and generally moved through my life without committing myself to any one thing with strong emotion or a desire to learn and then share my knowledge with others. I was never politically inclined nor religiously motivated. I didn’t feel any desire to change the world, the state, the community I lived in or even stand up for something I believed needed support. All that changed, however, the day I took my first job in Elder Care.
Back then all I really wanted was to get a foot in the door of sales and marketing. I was motivated by salary and a strong desire to keep food on the table of myself and my young son. I guess that was passion – I certainly was committed to finding a job where I could have some control over my income. My first sales job in 1995 was as a marketing representative of a large retirement community. Having absolutely no experience working around the elderly, I was surprised at how well I took to it and how much joy I derived from helping a prospective resident and her (2/3 of elderly persons are female) family understand the benefits of living in a retirement home.
Not long after my first job in elder care I set out on my own, forming a company that provided services to elderly and mentally ill people who had been abused, abandoned, fleeced of their life savings or were in danger of doing great harm to themselves without intervention. I felt strongly that I was doing something worthwhile and necessary and it was extremely rewarding. Passion was being born.
Fast forward to 2011, where I am still engaged in providing services to elderly, disabled or mentally challenged individuals. I am a member of several networking groups, all committed to providing quality services to our clients. I am an active participant in associations that bring awareness to the public on such subjects as Brain Injury, Fall Prevention, Elder Abuse and Alzheimer’s. My mornings are spent scanning the news reports for information on Health Care Reform, Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs because that directly affects my clients and the elder community. Most evenings are taken up with activities and social groups that revolve around educating the public about the present and future of long term care.
A person is said to have a passion for something when he has a strong positive affinity for it. You can say I have passion for the care and treatment of our elders. It developed over time, strengthening into a motivation to ensure that the next generation of elderly persons (that would be me) are treated with the same commitment and respect that my colleagues and I strive for every day.
I believe I can say the same thing about my colleagues in long term care. The journey to their passion most certainly was different than mine, but I see the same dedication, the same commitment, each time we meet for discussions, coffee or exchange of information. We share our passion with each other, and this blog is dedicated to sharing our passion with you. Welcome to our world.
submitted by Deborah White, Client Care Coordinator for Bivens & Associates, PLLC.
