A heart and spirit of gold

“Kay is an outgoing person with a heart of gold and a spirit to match it,” is how Anita Wood describes Kay Jenkins, who is the MDS coordinator at Consulate Health Care of Safety Harbor. As the MDS coordinator, one of Kay’s responsibilities is to interview the residents and patients and help them build a plan of care. Kay said that Consulate’s core values of compassion and respect guide her as she does the interviews and all other aspects of her job.

“You have to be compassionate in long-term care, both for the residents and for the nurses who take care of the residents,” Kay cited end-of-life as a particularly sensitive time. “When residents pass away, you know that the staff’s hearts are breaking too, and you need to be compassionate to the residents, families, and the staff.”

Regarding respect, Kay said, “You respect residents and co-workers, and you receive the same respect back. Our team is like a family. We get along well, respect one another, and help each other out.” It should be noted that Kay, who is very modest, is quick to turn any praise or attention she receives to her team members at Safety Harbor,

Through Kay’s nomination for the CHIRPs spotlight, we learned that Kay played a key role in implementing and teaching staff about the new Patient-Driven Payment Model (PPDM), which was a recent change to the way Medicare makes payment to the care center. “It has been an ongoing learning experience for us and the transition was smooth in our facility because of her,” said Anita Wood, who works in the medical records department.

Anita adds, “Kay exhibits team spirit and helps to solve situations and help in any way she can.” Her spirit must be infectious, because Kay’s daughter recently became an LPN, and is now working on the night shift at Safety Harbor! Thank you, Kay, for being an inspiration to residents, co-workers, and your own daughter!