Mr. Fix It

From maintenance to caregiver, Mike Brannon at Whispering Hills Care Center in Mount Vernon, OH does it all. Although his official title is maintenance director, Mike is really so much more. He has been in long-term care since he was just eighteen years old and spent his childhood following his mother around work, as she was an RN at a long-term care facility. His passion for helping others is innate, but he has developed skills and experiences that make him unlike anyone else.

Mike started out as a nursing assistant, but quickly got involved in maintenance by helping out with supply. When the position opened up for a maintenance director, Mike jumped at the opportunity.  Even though Mike had a background in caregiving, he felt that he wanted to be able to help the patients and residents in other ways too.

We asked Mike what the most important part of his job is, and although we expected that maintaining the care center would be his response, it was not. He said, “It’s the little things that the residents want. Moving furniture, fixing wheelchair brakes, hanging a picture. Those seem mundane, but the residents appreciate it so much.” It’s also something that Mike himself enjoys doing. One of Mike’s favorite parts of his job is helping out with transportation. He finds he is able to make great connections with family members and even people in the community. Mike takes his role to a much higher level than what is expected of him.

With all of the amazing things that Mike is doing to better the lives of the residents, he still finds time to bring breakfast to the nursing staff at least once a week. We asked him why he does this favor and he said, “You can spend $11 and feed everyone for nothing, but it makes such a difference.” When Mike first started working at Whispering Hills, he was nervous to do this, but he found that it made a huge difference and that people were extremely receptive to it. He has been bringing them breakfast ever since then.

Over the years, Mike has developed several meaningful relationships with his co-workers.  He worked with a woman in dietary for a long time. They used to chat daily and spent a lot of time at work together. One day, she had a stroke and she is now a resident at Whispering Hills. This had an enormous impact on Mike. He said “I realized how quickly life can change, and it made me really want to focus on making the resident experience as positive as possible.” Mike includes her in his breakfast run, even now as a resident.

Although it seems Mike represents all of our Core Values, we had to know which one he thinks is the most important. He said, “Honesty. When you are with residents, you don’t want to say anything that is untrue, and you would want to be treated the same way.”  Mike’s response just proves where his heart is and how much he cares about the residents.

Even though Mike is still certified as a CNA, he is fulfilled in his role in maintenance. He appreciates the interaction with the residents and he doesn’t see himself leaving the job anytime soon. We are so grateful for the work that Mike does, and hope to have him for many more years. Thank you Mike for all that you do!