Long-Term Living Magazine recently revealed the five winners of the 2015 Leaders of Tomorrow award. Among the winners was Deborah Platt, RN, BSN. Platt is employed at Royal Oaks Retirement Community in Sun City, Arizona as the Clinical Manager.
Platt’s dedication to the elderly blossomed at an early age because of the influence of her mother who worked as a caregiver. Platt was introduced to many of her mother’s clients and saw how the care her mother gave impacted their lives. She noted one particular client who insisted she get permission from him before going on a date with a boy. She admitted that she was put off by being required to visit the long-term care facility with her mother, but eventually she began to look forward to going.
Platt’s life took a different direction for many years as she dabbled in real estate, aviation and medical transcription, and at one point working as a certified nurse assistant (CNA). It wasn’t until she turned 38 that she realized that she loved being a caregiver and it was then that she decided to study to become a nurse.
Platt has been an employee at Royal Oaks for almost six years, starting her career there as the MDS coordinator. She continued to add to her responsibilities over the years by becoming the resident care coordinator in addition to her other roles.
Her determination to provide excellent care for residents has brought about many updates and changes within the facility. Updates include changing over to an ‘open dining’ plan which allows residents to eat as much as they want, whenever they want to make it more home-like and less institutional.
She also updated the medication administration policy, which now dispenses medicine only during waking hours instead of waking residents during the night.
Platt said she feels lucky to work in a facility that allows her to fulfill her passion for taking care of the elderly.