June 21, 2018 is an important anniversary for Maryann Domingo. The date marks her 25th year of serving others in long-term care. She began as an assistant activities manager at Consulate Health Care of Bayonet Point in Hudson, FL, and served in that position for 17 years. During that time, Maryann was also taking care of her own mother who spent time as a patient at Bayonet Point.
The executive director at Bayonet Point encouraged Maryann to pursue a career in healthcare management, and Maryann earned her nursing home administrator’s license in 2008. She stayed at Bayonet Point for another two years in activities, then moved to Consulate Health Care at Lake Parker where she was the interim executive director. Maryann’s next move was to Consulate Health Care of Safety Harbor, where she served as the executive director for five years.
After her leadership at Safety Harbor, Maryann returned to her roots at Bayonet Point as executive director. It is under her leadership that the care center was recently honored with the Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award by the American College of Health Care Administrators. Maryann is not only motivated to take care of her residents, but is equally inspired to take care of her staff. She was excited to tell us about the great team members at both Bayonet Point and Safety Harbor, many of whom have been working at the care centers for over ten years. She said that their teamwork is what has led to the excellent care at the centers.
Maryann finds her job to be extremely meaningful and rewarding. She gave us an example of a particular patient who had a big impact on her and her team. The relatively young resident had gone to the dentist and had a terrible reaction to the medication she was given. The patient ended up severely impaired and on a ventilator in the hospital. When she came to Safety Harbor, she had a tracheostomy and was unable to speak or walk. Although the patient did not have insurance or funds for rehabilitation services, Maryann decided to continue her treatment. With that treatment, the patient ended up walking out of Safety Harbor. “We did what we should have done to get her back to a normal life. It warms the heart to know that we did the right thing.” said Maryann. This is a perfect example of Consulate’s core value of integrity. Maryann told us that she thinks integrity is the most important of the core values.
When we asked Maryann about the challenges in her job, she mentioned the changing demographics of the patients that are admitted. Back in the early 90s, when Maryann began her career, the care centers were taking care of grandmas and grandpas. Now, they are seeing younger patients who have different needs than the traditional long-term care patients. The staff has the continuous job of adapting to take care of these new patients.
Maryann emphasized the importance of showing appreciation to her staff. Every month, she has a staff lunch. “The whole building makes up the team,” she told us. During Nursing Home week recently, they celebrated each day with a different Disney theme like hat day or tourist day. “Bayonet Point is a magical place to work.” Maryann said that staff and residents all enjoy the celebrations. “That is how we accomplish good things.” She also states that if you are good to your residents and your staff, the good results will follow.
In her free time, Maryann likes to travel and spend time with her family. She enjoys the simple things in life, like being in nature. When we asked Maryann about her future plans, she said that she would like to continue as an executive director. Thank you Maryann for your cultivation of fantastic teams at Consulate Health Care!
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