Pearl has worked for Excelcare for seven and a half years and has truly enjoyed her time as part of the Excelcare family.
Pearl began her journey with Excelcare as a Lifestyle Coordinator at Hunters Down Care Home in Huntingdon, Cambridge. She thoroughly enjoyed her time at the home, and looking back on it, she said “Being a Lifestyle Coordinator is such a wonderful job. It's very rewarding and you really do make a difference to the people living in the care homes. You make so many wonderful friends and it is so special to see the smiles on their faces when they see you, knowing that they are going to have some quality fun together!”
Pearl says that the trick to planning meaningful activities is getting to know each person that lives in the home extremely well, "The more you know each person, the more you are able to implement activities that they love to do." Pearl would plan ahead to ensure she was tying in activities happening in the local community, so that the residents still feel a part of it. Through this, Pearl has built strong connections with numerous community organisations.
Two and a half years ago, Pearl was offered the position of Regional Lifestyle and Wellbeing Lead for all 10 Cambridgeshire homes due to her exemplary work as a Lifestyle Coordinator. Now, she regularly visits all of Excelcare's homes in Cambridge, getting to know the teams and the people living there, where she supports the Lifestyle Coordinators in their roles, whilst still engaging in activities.
A large part of Pearl's role is showcasing how wonderful the resident’s lives are in the Cambridgeshire homes through photos, videos and writing stories – it’s one of her favourite things about her role!
Pearl feels that “it is very important for the public to read about the meaningful activities that residents enjoy each day. There is so much negativity out there around care homes, so it feels wonderful when the local papers and magazines print the articles that I send to them, so everyone can see how we stimulate residents with varied activities, keeping them involved in the local community.”
Pearl has seen great successes and opportunities in her role as Cambridge's Regional Lifestyle and Wellbeing Lead, and we are looking forward to continuing to watch her progress.