When you think there is more than half millennium of experience inside that front door, then you can begin to understand why Care One at King James is the warm, friendly, caring care center that it is.
Then when you consider that most of those 500 plus years come from 21 nursing assistants, nurses and specialists who just love the place so much they’ve never left, you can almost feel the warmth surrounding the residents.
A brief review of the number of nursing assistants employed at the 50 year old nursing facility highlights how many of them have been here more than a decade. Some go back to the first administrator, Herman “Duke” Black and many of them also knowing, or even caring for, one of the builders before his death, former Atlantic Highlands Mayor James R. Snyder. Then there are those who were there when Mrs. Snyder, Judy, died, as well as both Duke Black and later his wife, Edna.
Of the total staff, 21 have been employed at King James for ten years or more. Of those 21 people, most are certified nursing assistants, arguably one of the most difficult jobs in a nursing home. They are the people who clean out the bedpans, wash the bodies, change the diapers, hear the screams in the middle of the night along with the nursing staff. They’re the ones who spoon feed someone’s grandma, who dress someone’s grandpa and play checkers with a resident who hasn’t had a visitor..
Yet they stay. They stay at King James. And they do their job.
“Sure there are days that are really hard and I feel really bad. But then I can get myself out of it and come back to work the next day.” That’s how Catherine Merker, a certified nursing assistant explains why she’s still on the job after 44 years.
Merker was also quick to add ‘But there are many happy days. And the happiest are when I know I’m able to help someone and make their day better.”
Nor is Merker the longest serving certified nursing assistant. Lucinda Chigger, better known to everyone at Care One as Cindy, holds the record for longevity, having signed on at the care center ten months before Merker.
Both nursing assistants came into their positions long before there were state programs and certifications, learning everything they know from the knowledgeable and experienced staff at Care One, and their regular Friday study sessions mandated for all aides and held downstairs in the facility.
Both professionals remember with fondness and praise Mrs. Markowicz, the certified employee who held those sessions and took care to ensure all learned every aspect of their job. Mrs. Markowicz, both Merker and Chigger said, “was the greatest” and the tests the student employees all had to take were always fair but thorough. “She thought of everything,” Merker said, “she was just great.”
Chiger first applied for the job because “it was close to home and I could ride by bike to get to work,” but stayed on for the joy of helping others. She first worked in the dietary department and also praises Mrs. King, a nurse with Mrs. Markowitz both of whom were “just beautiful ladies.”
Chiger said she has stayed on working all these years because “it’s built into my system, these are all just such formidable people to work with and to work for, I care about them all”
. Because both these aides care so much for their residents, they both admit the downside is that “sometimes we get too close,” and they are particularly saddened when one of their friends dies. But they agree, they can take a measure of comfort in knowing they played important roles in the lives of their friends.
Nor does either of the two longest serving nursing assistants quit at the end of her workday. Merker is also a certified home health aide, and frequently takes other private duty assignments that do not conflict with her work at Care One.
Chiger has both a daughter and a granddaughter who have followed in her footsteps and are in the nursing field. Her daughter, Christine, is the second generation of her family in the field and is a Certified Nursing Assistant where she lives in Florida. Her granddaughter, Maria Chiger, is in the dietary department at the Holmdel nursing facility of Care One. “I guess it’s just built in,” the proud mom says of her family.
With similar dedicated service at King James Jane Schmoyer has also recorded longevity there with more than 33 years as a CNA. Then Tuula Yrjanainen is the next longest serving with over 30 years of service, followed a few years later by Elaine Burns and Olivia Holloway, each with 27 years. Debra Cannito joined the staff more than two decades ago and six months later, Veronica Pacquette began her career at King James Each of these CNAS has served more than 20 years at King James.
In the next ten years, all with careers between 14 and 19 years, are Karen Brown, Kerri-Ann Cannito, Carmel Castelly, Elizbeth Grissman, Marie Janvier, Sonya Johnson, Linda Kroeper, Lion Prince, Kathleen Sheehan and Eucilla Samuel. Rounding out the employees who have been there at least ten years are Shana Martin and Sandra Stabile, who will celebrate her decade anniversary this December.
While most of these long term employees are CNAs, certified nursing assistants, Samuel is a lead CNA, Martin and Sheehan are licensed practical nurses, Stabile is a registered nurse and Kroeper is a registered nurse and an MDS specialist, and Cannito is a medical records coordinator.
“I remember many of these fine employees when I myself started here after I became a registered nurse,” said Care One administrator Jimmie King. “Each of them has taught me the importance of dedication to the job and each has shown how caring and dedicated she is. Since I started my own nursing career as a Certified Nursing Assistant, I appreciate all these women do and how vital each is to the care and health of our residents.” The administrator noted that “We pride ourselves in offering a home like atmosphere for our long term residents, and these employees, by their love and dedication, truly make it feel like home.”
