Jackie and Kay are the smiling faces of Care for Veterans. They never fail to give a warm and friendly welcome and to show real care for all who come to visit us.
Jackie has been on our reception for 4 years, sharing the role for the past two and half years with Kay. Between them they meet and greet every person who comes into the building whether they be the staff coming on duty, relatives popping by to see one the residents, special guests or general visitors, volunteers coming to help out, the doctor on his regular round, hospital transport collecting a resident for an appointment, contractors, delivery drivers, the postman or even Bramble the donkey coming to wish everyone a Happy Christmas!
Of course they made me feel very welcome - even on their side of the desk.
I managed to squeeze in another chair
and I spent a wonderful couple of hours
discovering more about their varied and interesting role.
To be honest I just managed to smile a lot and offer a friendly welcome while Kay and Jackie calmly beavered away at their tasks - they are quite unflappable and very efficient at everything they do. So what is it that they do? Its not just smiling and being friendly ...
They are also the ears and the voice of the home. Communication is the core of everything whether that be face to face, via the phones, the internet, post, parcels or pure instinct! They are responsible for the switchboards - all internal and external calls come through them. They have to respond with clarity, knowledge, understanding and with a personal touch that makes everyone feel valued.... and they do it well.
Security falls within their remit too. So they are also the eyes of the home too. Jackie and Kay know that they have to be alert to any 'unecessary' callers as well as affirm those who are welcome - and somehow discern the difference. It takes courage as well as skill to do this. They manage the barriers as people enter via the carparks and they monitor the security cameras for pedestrian access too. The safety of the site is a very important part of their role which they carry out with due diligence and competence. It would take a brave soul to come in without them knowing! Kay and Jackie also ensure that everyone signs in at reception for fire safety purposes and they check the walkie talkies every day which would be used in an emergency.
Jackie and Kay both offer compassionate care for the people who pass their way so their role is about heart too. They know our residents well and their regular visitors. They have successfully built up a happy rapport with friendly banter and a genuine empathy in offering the support of a listening ear.
Their commitment to all the other departments in Care for Veterans is also a key part of their role. They book the residents' hair, chiropody and manicure appointments: order the newspapers: process any laminating for posters and information sheets: update the phone numbers and email address info: sell raffle and event tickets for fundraising: make flower arrangements for the dining room tables: fast track prescriptions and blood samples for the GP: administer the slips for the staff lunches: hand out tokens for the coffee machine in the day room: manage emails for the maintenance team: take photos for staff, volunteers and residents' records: order flower displays: hold the transport diary: log in and out keys for various locations around the home: keep a secure record of all visitors to satisfy GDPR guidelines: monitor contractors on site: direct people to the right department or person: ..... and smile, smile and smile some more!
Interesting Fact: Kay and Jackie have welcomed a whole host of interesting visitors to Care for Veterans including HRH Princess Alexandra, The Duke of Richmond and Gordon, The Worthing Mayor, TV gardeners Diarmuid Gavin and Nicki Chapman, the Bishop of Horsham, many choirs and entertainers, representatives from the armed forces, businesses and benefactors but also many animals including owls, dogs and, of course, Bramble the Christmas donkey!
Amazing statistic: According to the visitor book sheets for the month of April, we estimated that 1360 people had signed in as visitors. Now that is a lot of smiles .... well done ladies!