Jean Stoker, unit clerk with Siskin Hospital West, was named 2015 Caregiver of the Year for the Chattanooga District of the Tennessee Health Care Association. Her health care career spans nearly four decades.
Ms. Stoker was honored Aug. 31 at a breakfast with THCA’s board of directors and then again in the opening session of the THCA Annual Conference. She and five other district winners were recognized individually on stage and presented with a plaque honoring them as a district winner. All six are eligible for the THCA State Caregiver of the Year award.
The THCA Community Relations Committee will vote in October for the state winner. The winner will be announced in November and honored on National Caregiver Day. A THCA representative will travel to the winning facility to present the award and the videotaped presentation will be shown at next year’s annual conference.
When Ms. Stoker first took the certified nursing assistant job at the former St. Barnabas nursing facility in 1977, she didn’t think she’d like it, but she decided to give it a week’s trial. She actually made it for three weeks before returning to her former job. But it wasn’t long before she came back to St. Barnabas.
“I realized I really enjoyed taking care of the elderly,” said Ms. Stoker. For several years she worked as a CNA, then branched out into central supply and restorative care. When St. Barnabas opened an assisted living division in 1999, she found her niche for the next three decades.
“There’s never a dull moment and it’s never the same on any given day,” said Ms. Stoker. “I just enjoy talking with and learning from the elderly.”
Back in the 1970s no CNA certification was required; Ms. Stoker's half-day training from an experienced St. Barnabas CNA was sufficient. In the 1990s, however, certification became necessary for all CNAs. Ms. Stoker and her co-workers were allowed to challenge the test, with the stipulation that they’d have to take classes if their scores weren’t high enough.
“I made a 99 percent on the test,” said Ms. Stoker. “On-the-job-training was the best credential for me.”
When Siskin Hospital acquired St. Barnabas and renamed it Siskin Hospital West, Ms. Stoker remained to care for her cherished third-floor elderly residents.