The team at Etheldred House Care Home in Cambridge has been celebrating the achievements of their colleague Annmarie Bradshaw, who has been declared a finalist in the WASHCO Love Laundry Awards 2021!
The Love Laundry Awards are dedicated to the people working in care home laundry teams who truly make a difference. WASHCO encouraged care home teams across the country to nominate team members that have gone above and beyond, especially during the pandemic, so they are recognised and rewarded for their efforts.
Teams could nominate people for either the ‘individual’ category, where they could win a domestic Miele washing machine for their care home or, the ‘team’ category, where they could win a Sonos speaker system for the team’s laundry area. Ann Marie has been elected a finalist for the ‘individual’ category and is on her way to potentially winning Etheldred a new domestic washing machine.
Annmarie has been working at Etheldred House for 13 years now. She currently works full-time in the laundry team but is known to go far beyond her role due to her caring nature and dedicated work ethic. For her hard work, Annmarie was presented with a bunch of flowers and thank-you note by Andrew Seal, Excelcare’s Hospitality Lead as a sign of appreciation for all she does.
With many laundry teams and individuals going above and beyond, there were many nominations to the WASHCO awards from around the Excelcare group. However, Annmarie was the only shortlist, proving how much competition there is out there! WASHCO wanted to ensure each nominee was rewarded for their efforts, even if they don’t win the contest and so, are sending our prizes to everyone who received a nomination.
Annmarie was nominated for the WASHCO Love Laundry Awards by Etheldred House’s Home Manager Santall Horn. In the nomination, Santall wrote “I frequently find Annmarie in one of the houses during mealtimes where she is assisting someone with their meal. When her shift is done at the end of the day, one would usually see her sitting down chatting with a resident or walking hand in hand with a resident. She also frequently assists her team members with residents living with dementia when they are unsettled. None of this is asked of Annmarie – she does this out of choice.
Annmarie’s work is always done to the highest standard. She always ensures that all is done before she leaves for the day. She never leaves jobs incomplete. As the manager I have several times found out that when they were short of team members in the housekeeping team, Annmarie has sorted it and came to work the extra shifts. She never complains or leaves it for someone else to sort out, she does it herself.
The laundry room is immaculate, and we never receive any complaints about the resident’s clothes, or anything related to the laundry. She takes pride in her workspace. Annmarie makes sure she stays up to date with all the information she needs for her job role, whether this may be COSHH requirements or just information about new chemicals. Annmarie leads the housekeeping team in the absence of the Housekeeper and inducts new staff. Annmarie sets an example to all others of not only taking pride in her job in the laundry but to all other care staff too.
I am very lucky to have a staff member like Annmarie working at Etheldred House. She deserves this recognition & award.”
This is a true testament to Annmarie’s hard work and we wish her the best of luck in the finals!