Judy Cooper | 100 Days of Heart of Caring

Judy Cooper
Dining Team, River Bend House

One of the best parts of the 100 Days of Heart of Caring series is the opportunity to read through and craft features each day on our amazing nominees. Today’s nomination, however, speaks entirely for itself:

“River Bend House would like to nominate Judy Cooper for the Heart of Caring Award. Judy has been employed with River Bend for 14 years… Recently, Judy stepped down from her department head position to a cook working three days a week instead of four. Although Judy has cut down on the amount of time at River Bend, she has not scaled down her efforts.”

“Our values as a company include one of the most important values to River Bend House and Judy…Caring. Judy Cooper embodies this word. She has been instrumental in implementing changes to kitchen processes and the first one willing to offer ideas on how to implement them. Being a great leader comes natural to Judy, when she is in the kitchen she is in charge. The team members respects her and admires her.”

“Judy has impacted so many residents and residents’ families over the last 14 years with River Bend House. She has recreated a homemade Mac and Cheese recipe for a resident that was missing her family’s old recipe. She has “wrestled” turkeys around for several days, all to be sure that our family’s had a nice meal together for Thanksgiving. She also hosts “Cooking with Judy” on a monthly basis, where residents get to snack on sweet treats and laugh/chat with Judy. It was and is so important to Judy that our residents have great meals, because she understands the importance of food in their lives.”

“Judy Cooper has always brought a caring, positive, and joyful attitude to work. This personality of hers is what makes her such a magnet to the rest of our team members at River Bend. Judy has a knack for being able to listen to others problems or concerns in confidence. However, Judy has not been without trouble herself. Despite her typically caring and positive attitude that Judy brings to work with her, she has seen some tough days.”

“A little over a year ago, on a cold January night, Judy and her best friend on four legs, “Willie”, were abruptly awakened when a car crashed into the side of her home. A vehicle had gone off the road and hit her car parked in front of her house. The driver that lost control drove straight into the side of Judy’s house breaking items in her home and knocking picture frames off the wall. The house was knocked clear off its foundation, damaging floor joists and her heating and cooling units in her home. Her vehicle was completely totaled. Through the shock of this event and the clean up afterwards, Judy only missed her shift the morning of the incident. This occurred almost six years to the date of her late husband’s, Tom, death.”

“We couldn’t be more proud of someone to represent our community, and we believe Judy is proud to represent River Bend House.”

This spotlight is part of Senior Lifestyle’s 100 Days of Heart of Caring series featuring nominees from our 170+ communities across the country. All nominations are anonymous. Our nominees represent the backbone of our commitment to our core values: Caring, Honesty, Appreciation, Respect and Teamwork; without them, we could never fulfill our goal of providing best-in-class care to every one of our residents. Join us as we celebrate these caring, passionate individuals and their commitment to our residents.

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