Montgomery Haven retirement village provides housing for state pensioners who are taken care of by dedicated staff members.
Esmé Gerber has been working as a matron for 31 years and joined the staff at Montgomery Haven in 2004.
Matron Gerber said she has been working with students from Bradford College who are training to be nurses.
“I initially started to train nurses to help them complete their hours at Montgomery Haven. I train eight students at a time. They work the same number of hours as the nurses which are divided into the day and night shift,” said Matron Gerber.
Residents stay in different units, including able-bodied units, bed-sitters, the full care centre and the Alzheimer’s unit, depending on their needs.
Matron Gerber said she teaches the student nurses everything about house care and nursing residents. She described the work as challenging and believes young students have to learn to have patience before they can work with elderly residents.
“Besides training nurses on how to do household chores, I also show them how to entertain residents, give them massages and also treat them to manicures and pedicures. We try to celebrate as many special occasions as possible such as Valentine’s Day, Easter and Christmas,” she explained.
Matron Gerber believes in order to be a nurse you must love other people, study at a nursing college, be willing to work long hours and have empathy for the people you work with.
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