Caregiver

Brief Description

Caregivers are the main support providers to our residents. Caregivers work hard every day to offer emotional support, ease our residents' lives, and help them maintain a high quality of life. This is accomplished by supporting their ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) such as assisting them with waking, toileting, feeding, safety, and participating in social activities. Caregivers report to the Wellness Coordinator and are a part of the Resident Care Team. The caregiver role is challenging, yet extremely rewarding as the residents show their strong appreciation for the assistance that caregivers bring them.

Our Resident Care Department provides individualized care to seniors who are in need of assistance with personal tasks. Our care associates assist residents with their everyday needs such as bathing, toileting, dressing, mobility, medication administration, and engagement in social activities. Through constant compassion, patience, and understanding, they strive to maintain resident independence and dignity.

Main Job Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Assist residents with their Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) – waking, toileting, feeding, safety, light cleaning, oral care, and bathing.
• Respond to the resident emergency call system in a timely manner.
• Provide assistance during mealtime, activities, or wherever necessary.
• Give emotional support to the residents by treating them with respect, dignity and always maintaining a positive and cheerful appearance.
• Promote safety and wellbeing of the residents through use of written and verbal procedures, safety equipment and awareness of any potential dangers.
• Assists with janitorial and housekeeping tasks as needed.
• Participate in shift change meetings to communicate with oncoming associates regarding resident status or special needs.
• Report changes in behaviors or medical conditions to community leadership.
• Follow direction from shift supervisors regarding care, emergencies, and resident needs.
• Communicate with outside agencies and community partners such as hospice, home health agencies, and the like.
• Complete all required documentation (resident care summary, 24 hour report, shower logs, etc.)
• Assist with all other duties as assigned by the Wellness Coordinator and community leadership.

At Waltonwood, we are all a part of a team who are here to serve the residents living in our communities. Our residents count on us every hour of every day. First and foremost, we expect our associates to have regular attendance; defined as being on time and present to all scheduled shifts, for the entire shift. Our associates need to value the importance of timeliness, punctuality, and dependability, and how the lack of these critical elements affects others in the workplace and the overall community operations. We expect all associates to be willing to lend a helping hand to co-workers, direct reports, and supervisors, whether it is one of their typical job responsibilities or not. This includes welcoming new associates and residents into the community, and making them feel at home. Associates need to keep the best interests of the residents and other associates in mind, and be an active participant in accomplishing team, community, and company goals.

Competencies:

• Patience – Works hard to understand the people and process before making judgements and acting. Very tolerant and sensitive with people, and takes time to listen. Does not take shortcuts, follows established processes well.
• Customer Focused – Dedicated to meeting and exceeding the needs of the customer by establishing and maintaining effective relationships as well as gaining trust and respect of customers.
• Passion for Seniors – Feels strongly about working with the senior population. Has a drive to go above and beyond for seniors. Typically this comes from a personal experience or prior work experience in a senior citizen setting.
• Integrity and Trust – Does what they say they will do, does not take the easy road, and does not misrepresent themselves for personal gain. Always does the right thing, even when it does not benefit themselves directly.

Job Requirements:

• High school diploma or GED is required.
• In North Carolina, CNA is required.
• Previous experience as a caregiver is preferred.
• Previous experience working with the elderly or memory impaired adults is preferred.

Physical Requirements:

• Constant use of manual dexterity, auditory and visual skills and gross motor skills with frequent use of bi-manual dexterity and fine motor skills.
• Ability to follow written and oral instructions and procedures.
• Associates in this role are occasionally exposed to hot water, and cleaning chemicals.
• Ability to reach, bend, twist, squat, kneel, push and pull.
• Ability to lift/carry up to 50 pounds. 80 pounds of pressure may be placed on the associate through transfers using transfer belts or mechanical assists.
• Ability to perform repetitive movements including simple grasping, pushing, pulling and fine manipulation.
• Constant standing and walking.