Three years ago, Belinda Randall RN found herself professionally overwhelmed and lost. She was working as a nurse, and the position became demanding and felt impersonal. So, she began praying for guidance and searched for a new opportunity. Her prayers were answered with a call from Deaconess Nurse Ministry. She had submitted her resume online just hours beforehand. During the call, she spoke with a Deaconess nurse and quickly realized it could be a place to find her calling.
Belinda has worked at Cape Albeon Senior Community since beginning as a Faith Community Nurse. Her main goal in her role is to keep all of her residents in independent living. She does all she can to connect them to resources, from caregiving services to blood pressure clinics, that can help maintain independence. Though when it is time for them to transition into more intensive care, she helps with that as well.
She’s also involved in One Day At a Time, a group where caregivers and spouses of individuals with dementia or Alzheimer’s come together, share resources and tell stories of their experiences. Belinda says it helps them know they are not the only ones going through it and that the decisions they’re having to make are common and shared.
The most rewarding part of her job is when residents come and tell her, “thank you.” It may seem like a minor gesture, but that she can help them go from being distressed to feeling they have lighter burdens is important to the holistic care she seeks to provide. She also loves when residents come into her office, sit on her couch and have conversations with her. Sitting with lonely seniors who may not realize they’re lonely is important, and she makes sure her office is always open for that reason.
Looking ahead, Belinda is excited to start new groups that can get more residents engaged when she doesn’t have the time to meet directly. She isn’t sure exactly what this is going to look like yet, but she’s enthusiastic about the opportunity to provide this valuable service to seniors.
Belinda went from feeling like she wasn’t helping people in a meaningful way to finding purpose through being needed by a community. She says this need is what makes her feel God has blessed her with this job. She has a reason to show up to work every day. That’s what makes this “the best job [she’s] ever had.”