Veteran Support Worker Celebrates A Quarter Of A Century At Sunderland Care Service
A long-standing support worker at Laverneo care home in Pennywell, Sunderland, is set to celebrate her 26th – and final – year working at the home.
Denise Collier has worked at Laverneo since 1996, caring for individuals with a range of physical and learning disabilities.
During her time at the home, Denise has taken up a variety of different roles, building positive relationships with many of the individuals in her care. She has taken responsibility for taking individuals on trips, planning daily activities and mentoring and training new staff members, amongst several other important roles.
Speaking of her time at Laverneo, Denise said: “Working in care can be really special. It is very rewarding helping extraordinary people do things that no one ever thought was possible.”
Recently, Denise was nominated for an award by Salutem, the company that operates Laverneo. Staff cited her mentorship, flexibility, innovation, caring nature and her values as the reasons behind her nomination.
She said: “I have been very fortunate having the opportunity to work at a home like Laverneo. The home is operated by Salutem, which means that there are lots of opportunities to meet interesting people from other homes, at events and on trips out.
“I’ve also been fortunate enough to support residents on holidays abroad in the past. The residents are always extremely kind and I thrive off the lovely feedback that they give.”
Sharon Hedley, service manager at Laverneo care home, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Denise over the past few years. She has a really lovely and caring manner and it is clear that she cares deeply about the people living here.
“Denise has spent her entire working life dedicated to supporting vulnerable people while they achieve extraordinary things. She has been a fantastic member of the team and has provided loyalty and continuity for residents at Laverneo for a number of years.
“The world would certainly be a much better place with more people like Denise.”
