Written by Madison Zepp
Garden Spot Village provides not only opportunities for residents to grow and live with purpose but also opportunities for employees to grow and live with purpose. A prime example of this is Janie Martin. After encouragement from her friends and family, she stopped in at Garden Spot to see what opportunities they may have for an experienced LPN. Fifteen years later Janie specializes in dementia care as a dementia educator and consultant at ForgeWorks.
Janie credits most of her success to the mentors who saw various strengths in her. Along the way, these people opened doors for her and gave her new opportunities that she either wouldn’t have had or would have initially passed up.
Janie worked in Mountain View as an LPN for around two years before she was approached with the opportunity of a new position: a clinical care coordinator. Similar to before, she resisted change. She was happy in her position. After she was approached a second time about the position, she accepted a month-long trial. She was extremely grateful for this opportunity. Not many employers would allow someone try a position and come back to their previous one like Garden Spot offered.
Throughout this trial, she loved the position. During this time, through the help of her supervisor, Denise Hoak, Janie discovered her true passion: working with residents with cognitive impairments, such as dementia. Denise also gave her many other opportunities, such as different workshops in leadership, as well as a certification in dementia education.
Over the length of her career at Garden Spot, Janie has repeated the process that got her to where she is today: mentorship. She began to see individuals in personal care who were going above and beyond. She took this opportunity to challenge these people to consider roles where she knew they would excel. Through the process of mentoring others, Janie has also learned that the people she mentors provide valuable and unique perspectives.
One of Janie’s favorite things is to learn. She described, “I hope I can continue to grow and learn until I take my last breath. That’s my personality: I want to keep growing, I want to keep learning,” No matter what stage you are at in your career, Garden Spot continuously provides opportunities to learn and grow.
A Career to Fit a Lifestyle
Last year, Janie had an unexpected health situation. As a result, she reevaluated her life and simply realized that she had too much on her plate for her circumstances. As a result, Janie felt it was best to stop her dementia training classes. Although it was a huge passion for her, it no longer fit her lifestyle along with her clinical care coordinator position.
Soon after, she was approached by Allison Cuthie, the director of Garden Spot’s consultancy, ForgeWorks. Denise encouraged her to approach the meeting with Allison with an open mind. Janie left the meeting with a new career. Transitioning from a full-time career to retirement is a difficult process. Allison gave Janie the opportunity to lessen her workload over time, as well as refocus her passion for dementia education.
She was, of course, thrilled about this opportunity. She explained, “I just felt like doors kept opening and opening…To me, it was a real God thing”
Janie has many goals for her upcoming role at ForgeWorks. She loves to communicate one–on–one with individuals during their journey through cognitive changes. One of her favorite parts about the new role is being able to fully engross herself in the field of dementia education. She loves to read, research, and develop ways to teach this information.
Another goal Janie has is to share her dementia education with the Plain communities in Lancaster County. Many people in those communities care for their parents and grandparents at home. She wants to erase the stigma and awkwardness around cognitive changes and help people care for their loved ones well.
Janie showcases, in every way possible, how unexpectedly positive change can be. Through the right tools, such as mentorship and opportunity, she has a career that perfectly fits her lifestyle. Garden Spot is able to provide these unique opportunities to their employees due to the sense of community they have built over time.