A caring heart is one of Lynn Rye’s most defining characteristics.
Lynn serves as a Staff Nurse on the specialized dementia care unit at Sayre Christian Village and has been instrumental to the person-centered care programming that we offer on that unit.
Lynn thinks that a lady should always look her best and will spend her own money to make sure our ladies get to have their hair done in our beauty shop. On days that the beauty shop isn’t open, you will find Lynn curling and styling our residents hair – on her own time!
Love & Caring Spirit
On one occasion, Lynn saw a resident with a baby doll and she was amazed at the response and how soothing the doll was to the resident. So much so that Lynn made arrangements and brought in an infant and let the resident interact with the baby and the resident’s reaction was truly amazing. Lynn said the resident’s eyes lit up like she had never seen before.
Lynn’s love and caring spirit is best described when she cared for a resident who spent about six months in hospice care. The resident seldom had any visitors but the resident’s sister, who was also elderly and had vision issues, would visit as often as she could. The resident’s son had stopped visiting. Near the end of life, Lynn reached out to the sister fearing that the resident was near passing. Since it was night-time, the sister was unable to drive and could not get herself here.
Lynn was determined that the resident not die alone and committed to being by her side until family could arrive. The son had been contacted and he went to pick up the sister and they both arrived that night. The resident died the next day with her sister by her side and had been able to see her son one final time. The lasting impact is apparent from the note written by the sister:
“You are the most wonderful staff and I will never forget you and I may never see you again but I wish you the best in life. You will always have a place in my heart. I know she was your baby and you loved her so much.”
Above & Beyond…Daily
If Lynn knows that a resident is near death, she will rush to be with them so that they are not alone for their last breath. She then makes it a priority to attend funeral services, no matter how far away they are from her home.
Lynn has a special approach with residents. We have a resident who refuses to take a shower but you can always count on Lynn to walk in and make the resident comfortable to take the shower, even if that means she gets soaked in the process!
Lynn has the ability to connect sincerely with residents, families and her co-workers. In addition, she has built strong relationships with Physicians and Nurse Practitioners through her unwavering dedication to caring for the elderly.
It is because of all these things that Lynn was nominated for a state-wide award, the Caring Heart by Leading Age Kentucky. Congratulations, Lynn – you deserve it!
Join Our Team
Sayre Christian Village has been giving award-winning service to seniors in the Bluegrass for over 35 years. We are accepting applications for talented and caring team members. We are Fayette County’s only non-profit continuing care retirement community and a great place to work!