![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/DSC02363-1-683x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cEvery day I worked I could keep an eye on their baskets. I\u2019d just take some home and bring it back the next day,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s shared her family with them, too. Her husband, Tiny, has made routine fried chicken runs for some ladies, and her four-pound Imperial Shihtzu, Sissy, still visits residents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eventually, Tucker found herself caring for true family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy mother, Melba Hunter, broke her hip, and I took her to Lincoln with me. I was with her every day I worked. I took\u00a0her with me to Lincoln\/Donalson, but when residents were no longer able to smoke, I went with her to Elk River,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once COVID forced the facility to close to visitors, Tucker was able to be with her mother on her shifts rather than wave to her from the outside windows. Another bright spot: Tucker\u2019s son, Benjie Porterfield, sent his grandmother flowers every month until she passed away in 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now Tucker shares flowers with the Elk River residents in memory of her mother, planting and maintaining them in the outdoor sitting area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cElk River was so good throughout all of that with my mother. I\u2019ve always worked under good people,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Vickie Hopkins, one of Tucker\u2019s prior supervisors, said, \u201cYou\u2019d see her serving residents with loving hands and a tender heart. She\u2019d come in on her days off and make sure residents were taken care of, especially residents with no families.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tucker\u2019s dedication was recognized in 2012 when she was named Facility Caregiver of the Year by Lincoln & Donalson Care Centers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tucker now works only two days a week at Elk River, assisting with the women\u2019s activities and filling in when a tech is needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll probably work two days a week till I can\u2019t go,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And if she goes, she\u2019ll no doubt take a little sunshine with her. -GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" INSIDE SKILLED nursing facilities, time moves at different paces: the residents\u2019 and everyone else\u2019s. The employees escape to a world filled with things to do, places to go, and people to see when their shift ends. But for those left behind, routines are their clocks and certified nursing assistants are their timekeepers. Little things make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":13209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/DSC02348-1-1024x683.jpg\")