When a devastating COVID-19 outbreak swept through Silver Bluff Village, a senior care campus in Canton, North Carolina, in July of 2020, administrator Lisa Leatherwood faced a daunting set of unprecedented challenges. “It was like the perfect storm,” she recalled.
Many employees fell ill, and fear drove others to exit the profession entirely, creating a dire shortage of available staff to provide critical resident care. Personal protective equipment was in short supply, testing was slow, morale was low and vaccines were still many months from approval.
Seeing the difficulties facing the facility, Consonus rehab director Natosha Cook, who has worked at Silver Bluff for more than 20 years, took it on herself to mobilize her team to help the care staff. As the pandemic had put a pause on most resident therapy, she and her colleagues quickly stepped into nurse assistant roles, taking vitals, refilling supplies and doing whatever else was needed.
Besides being the driving force in the support effort, Natosha worked night and graveyard shifts at the facility, side by side with other caregivers. As most visitation was restricted, she took it on herself to serve as a surrogate family member in a time of great loneliness and isolation. She even sat through many nights at the bedsides of dying residents, holding their hands as they passed away.
At the outdoor ceremony honoring Natosha with the Legend award, Consonus area director David Daub spoke about her contribution. “She does not look for recognition, attention or credit,” he said. “She quietly goes to work every day, without complaint, to support her residents and co-workers.”
“What she did was invaluable, and I don’t know what we would have done without her help,” said Leatherwood. “Natosha, nobody deserves this Legend award more than you.”