Every month, we invite one of our team members to sit down with us and tell us more about their journey to Elder Care Alliance, their role now, and their insights into older adult care. We are excited to share the expertise and knowledge of our many team members who every day come to work and help our residents live their best lives with us.
Today we welcome Angela Boucher Turin, AlmaVia of San Rafael Executive Director.
Us: Hi, Angie! Tell us a little about your background and your role at Elder Care Alliance.
Angie: I was extremely fortunate to work for an excellent, all-inclusive resort company—Club Med—for over 20 years. At the age of 26, I became the only female American General Manager worldwide out of 130,000+ employees. I spent the next 14 years gaining the maximum amount of knowledge for all operations with Front Desk, housekeeping, activities, group sales, room sales, marketing, 5-star culinary services, maintenance, accounting in multiple currencies, and entertainment.
I transitioned from the hospitality industry to the Senior Living world when approached by Aegis Senior Living. It was then I was given the opportunity to begin my journey with assisted living, independent living, and memory care.
My honorable role as Executive Director with Elder Care Alliance gives me the opportunity to better the lives of our residents by maintaining strong operations for dining, maintenance, life enrichment, spiritual needs, assisted living, and memory care services. This also includes quick responses to billing concerns and also payroll questions that may arise for our team.
In addition, as we serve our residents, we also serve our team. And for that, there may be assistance needed on any given day at any given hour. My goal will always be to provide excellent customer service for our residents, our teams, our families, guests and vendors.
Us: How does your work benefit residents at Elder Care Alliance communities?
Angie: The number one quality I look for when hiring a new associate is to have the “right heart.” One that is loving, caring and shows genuine understanding. My work will always focus on learning about each resident, understanding each resident, and working through any concerns in order to have a strong relationship together.
Above all, my hope is that my work will show that I care for all the needs, wants and desires of our residents. This includes all of our AVSR team to share the same desire for true compassion and excellence for those we serve.
Us: Tell us more about a specific feature of your job or duties and what residents can expect to gain from that.
Angie: After 26 years in the hospitality industry, my strongest skill sets involve: culinary, housekeeping, activities, creating and maintaining beautiful landscapes, entertainment, and perfecting administrative services. With those mentioned, my goal is to provide memorable culinary moments while striving to find the best “resident choice” menu.
Another goal is to introduce new and exciting activities, such as creating a butterfly garden, an outdoor alleyway for hummingbirds, and various interesting vegetation for learning purposes. Also, training the front desk and the administrative service director to be quick to respond to billing concerns and to have our ancillary charges well-organized for a “zero-error” policy.
Us: What is one of your favorite memories or experiences working at Elder Care Alliance?
Angie: My most favorable moment with Elder Care Alliance was the generous associate holiday party we were authorized to give to our team. Our ASVR party was crazy! For weeks after our party, I continued to hear our team speak about how much fun they had, how crazy the games were, how great the entertainment was, and how wonderful their favorite foods tasted. I do not make a million dollars, though I felt like a million dollars from seeing how happy this party made my team. They deserved this!
Us: What is the greatest reward that your role at Elder Care Alliance brings?
Angie: When a resident stops by my office to say hello, share what they did over the weekend, and talk about how great an associate was when being helped. Or when an associate shares a sweet moment they had with a resident or shares details about their life with me, these are the most precious rewarding moments I have.
Us: Can you share any insights into new programs, menus, etc. you are planning for the future?
Angie: An exciting new program and upcoming event we have planned for our residents and families are a new memory care support group, which brings together the husbands and wives of residents with dementia. Providing this support through our spiritual care director is truly needed.
In addition, we will shortly begin our new “Honoring You” dinner, which will feature resident birthdays, anniversaries or special occasions with an over-the-top 5-star menu that is serviced by our entire director team. This special moment will bring our residents and our management team together on a beautiful occasion that will only strengthen our relationships together.
