Senior living community a godsend for this team member

St. Michael’s Assisted Living December 21, 2018

St. Michael’s Assisted Living was there for Amber Rusert when she really needed help. She’s not a resident: She’s a nurse.

After purchasing a house in November 2014, Amber lost her job and had trouble finding a new one.

“I was without a job for 8 months, struggling to pay my bills and basically just survive. And I have a very strong faith, so I really just kind of leaned on God during that difficult time,” Amber said.

Her mother called one day to recommend a letter to the editor her pastor had written in the local paper. Amber never read the newspaper, but wanted to see the pastor’s letter. While she had the paper open, she flipped to the job postings. An opening at St. Michael’s for an LPN Clinical Care Coordinator caught her eye. Within a week, she’d interviewed and been hired.

Amber_Rusert.jpg“I’d never heard of this place before,” Amber said. “I fully believe God led me here. I don’t really have any other explanation for it. I absolutely love my job, even though I had never really thought that I wanted to work in geriatrics.”

Amber’s work includes supervising resident assistants, coordinating with health care providers on behalf of residents and providing nursing care and assessments for residents. All typical for someone with her job title, but the way she approaches it is exceptional.

“Amber carries out daily tasks with such compassion: She definitely shows Christ’s love to our residents,” said Tiffany Olson, St. Michael’s Administrator. “She has that same attitude toward her entire team at work. It’s really uplifting to be around her.”

Christian care means Amber can sit down with a widower who is missing his wife and talking about her place in heaven and her salvation through Jesus. She can play music with a positive message in her office. She can sing “Jesus Loves Me” to a resident with dementia who wanders and becomes agitated.

“The resident just stops. She gets a smile on her face. She starts singing right along with you. I feel like that speaks to her heart,” Amber said. “That’s really special, to be able to share my faith.”

She admits it sounds a bit cliché, but truly the best part of her job is making a difference in the lives of others, especially at a time when residents rely so much on others.

“I never want to hear the phrase ‘That’s not my job,’ or ‘That’s not my resident,’ because we are all here for every single resident in this building. We are not here for a paycheck; we are here to help them,” Amber said. “We all kind of help each other out. You’ll see Tiffany vacuuming the floor. Or you’ll see our registered nurse taking a minute to wipe down tables in the dining room. We all pull together for our residents.”

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