Working at Providence Place Nursing Home has been an interesting experience. Jobs in Pine Grove for a school student isn’t exactly plentiful; however, I found an opportunity for myself at Providence Place. I work 3-7 during select weekdays and 10-6:30 every other weekend. My job on the weekend is Dining Coordinator which involves setting up the dining room and everything associated with that. During the weekday, I am Dining Associate where I’m basically an assistant to the chef.  

        Before working there I had no experience with working with the elderly. I now know their preferences, likes, and dislikes. You can’t treat the residents like any other age group because they grew up in a different environment. The media that they grew up around is completely different than that of today’s. Even the food they eat is vastly different than today’s. That age group is used to home cooked style meals, whereas our modern generation often times is used to fast food. You really get a great understanding on how to treat the elderly at a job like this.

The residents needs are always put before everything else. They constantly have activities and performances at the nursing home. They get to watch their childhood movies and do arts and crafts with employees. There are even church groups every week that sing and pray with them. The residents tend to feel bored or lonely when they are away from their families, so activities like this are important to keep them occupied and happy.

           The work environment is much like most jobs. Of course it’s never gonna be pure happiness and rainbows. Some days it might feel like a bit too much but for the most part the work environment is a positive one.