Almost 30 years ago, Annette Rosario began her career with Good Samaritan Society – Fort Collins Village in Fort Collins, Colorado.
She helped with the laundry and housekeeping back then but she has since taken on many other roles within this community.
“I served as the backup for a lot of different things here,” she says, laughing.
Her official title these days is “unit secretary” but it includes scheduling staff, purchasing, distributing supplies at Fort Collins Village and whatever else comes up during the course of a busy day.
Annette was invited to be part of a Zoom meeting with OnShift, the company that provides software for scheduling. She expected it be about all the things they do on a regular basis.
Instead, it was an opportunity to notify Annette that she was being presented with OnShift’s Lifetime Achievement Award for 2020.
After she clicked into the Zoom meeting, she realized this wasn’t just wasn’t going to be another day at work.
“I was like – wait a minute, this was supposed to be a meeting with my boss,” she says. “I was confused on why everybody was there. It took me a couple days for it to all sink in that this was really a great honor.”
Scheduling is not an easy task, nor is it Annette’s only task these days. Her duties share one common theme: She’s good at all of them in the opinion of her colleagues at Fort Collins Village.
“The staff love her,” says Kerry MacFarlane, Fort Collins Village Director of Nursing. “As a leader she is invaluable to the efficiency of the community. She also makes sure to help the staff when needed and the residents absolutely love her. She is what the Good Samaritan Society is about.”
Annette comes by it naturally because she genuinely likes what she does.
“I love the fact that every day is different,” Annette says. “I’ve been here long enough so that when challenges come up, I know how to react.”
Challenges inevitably come up with scheduling. A staff is made up of people who have lives outside of work. Guiding that effort from week-to-week takes a caring attitude.
“My philosophy is that everyone should have a work and home balance,” Annette says. “I try to make sure when something happens in their lives that I can find someone to work for them. Or I’ll do it myself so that whatever it is that they need to do, they can do it.”
In Kerry’s recommendation to OnShift, she writes: “Annette works with over 60 people and their schedules and somehow keeps it all straight. We have a large number of our aides that are in school. She is able to accommodate each of them to not only staff the facility but to make their lives a priority. I have heard over and over how she is able to help them have a work/life balance. She is the reason many of them continue to work here.”
It's a level of dedication that could not be achieved without an appreciation for others and the good that comes from being part of a mission to provide care at Fort Collins Village.
“It’s satisfying because I’ve been here almost 30 years and it feels like home for me,” Annette says. “All my co-workers and the residents are family. It’s like you’re working with your family every single day.”
