Old-fashioned moral values

Vanessa Grant was brought up by her single mother who raised her and her seven siblings with a firm hand. Her mother struggled to raise all of them. Looking back, Vanessa is grateful her mother instilled strong ethical values that she carries in her heart and practices what she believes in.

Vanessa is a 14-year CNA veteran at Destin Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Florida. She received her first CNA hands-on training in a care center in Pennsylvania in 1999 and subsequently became a certified CNA.

Vanessa moved to Florida in April 2004 after visiting her family here. She fell in love with the Sunshine State and thought what can go wrong with lots of sun and white sandy beaches. “With God’s grace, I landed a job at Destin Healthcare, and I’ve been here ever since,” Vanessa adds.

Vanessa loves her job. “The smiles I get every day from my residents when they tell me they miss me while I’m away making my heart swell with pride and joy. I have a soft spot in my heart for all of our residents,” Vanessa says.

“Besides that, I truly believe in helping those who need our help and to me that’s priceless. I come to work with a positive attitude. Being a CNA is a rewarding job that keeps on giving,” Vanessa continues. Her co-workers regard her as a team player, always punctual, well-dressed, and always extends a helping hand to those that need her assistance.

Vanessa’s Core Values are Respect and Integrity. But she considers all five of the Core Values equally important. Residents deserve respect, the old-fashioned way. Compassion comes from the heart and integrity is how you would treat the residents because their lives are different life from yours.

As for the future, Vanessa intends to continue working as a CNA until she retires and plans to remain in Destin. “I know I’m getting old and one day I’ll have to stop working. But my heart tells, me not to,” Vanessa laughs.

On her days off, she loves to shop. She’s no ordinary shopper, she loves the thrill of bargain shopping. Throughout the year, Vanessa trolls all the bargain shops around Destin looking for gifts for her family.