Congratulations to Sarah for her 25 years hard work at Woodlands as an activities Co-ordinator. During her 25 years at Woodlands Susan has always put the residents first and they have been the centre of her universe. Susan went to Woodlands when she moved to Church Crookham after leaving her career as a secretary in Manchester.
Her first day was October 23rd 1989 working for Woodlands founder Gill Lee who recalled: “On Susan’s first day she walked in and it was obvious the residents were the centre of her universe. She revolved all her roles and responsibilities around the wishes of the residents, giving up her free time to take them to fetes and other outings. In return the residents all loved her back and she was a definite favourite”
In 1999 Susan was nominated by residents for Carer of the Year in the Hampshire Care Awards which motivated Woodlands and its sister home, Hill Brow in Ewshott, to create a formal Staff Achiever Award.
In 2004, Susan went back to studying, aged 53 and achieved a NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care. By 2010 she proved she had a real flare for activities and motivating the residents by taking on the full time role of activities Coordinator.
Alison Lee, who owns Woodlands said: “I don’t know how Susan gets all the different residents to smile and join in. They respond to her and have a quality of life which seemed unattainable. “Susan always has a lovely calm manner about her and works patiently with the residents. She is an extraordinary person. If only we could bottle her” Over recent years Susan has reduced her hours to part-time but she just cant stay away and volunteers on her days off. She still gets votes each month for the Staff Achiever Award.
