Simon Ngugi, Lead Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)/Scheduler at Sunny Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, has been named a 2024 Frontline Honors honoree by Skilled Nursing News. This year’s SNN Frontline Honors program is sponsored by TeamHealth.
To become a Frontline honoree, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be:
- A dedicated, high-performing frontline worker who delivers exceptional experiences and outcomes
- A passionate worker who knows how to put their vision into for the good of their respective industry, the patients and residents they serve, and their families
- An advocate for their industry and their fellow colleagues
Skilled Nursing News recently caught up with Ngugi to discuss their time in the skilled nursing industry.
SNN: What drew you to this industry?
Ngugi: I started off as a transitional Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) while attending college and, before I knew it, I was immersed into the culture that calls for making a difference every day.
SNN: What’s your biggest lesson learned since starting to work in the industry?
Ngugi: I have, over the years, come to cherish the fact that being a frontline caregiver is about building relationships. It is the most critical aspect of earning your residents’ trust, their loved ones and your colleagues. There are many times that what we do will falls outside the realm of what we are expected to do, but nobody prepares you for these moments, and they do last a lifetime in the lives of those we touch and their loved ones.
SNN: What’s your favorite part about your job?
Ngugi: I particularly find fulfillment in seeing short-stay success stories and being a part of a team that makes a difference daily, all the while making an indelible mark in the lives of those we care for.
Returning residents, because of their previous experiences with our teams, further the untold story behind the scenes, and being a source of comfort, a beacon of hope, even in the hardest of times, is a role I appreciate and do not take for granted.
SNN: What do you want the general public to better understand about your job and the industry you serve?
Ngugi: Frontline caregivers have challenging roles and many have to navigate their jobs, even when facing regular upheavals in their own lives.
We are people taking care of people and we strive to bring our best every day. Sometimes, we are under the weather, sometimes we are being family caregivers when the shift is done, sometimes we are facing the challenges of being misunderstood, but at the end of the day, we know what a critical role we play in the industry, and society at large, and the human cost of what we do is immeasurable.
SNN: What’s something that you wish other people in your organization — particularly leaders who don’t work on the front lines — understood better about your job?
Ngugi: While executives and middle level leaders in my organization are very supportive, I would only reiterate the very fact that frontline caregiving is taxing. Policy making needs to take into account the human cost that cannot be quantified. It is a two way process; the frontliners do the best they know how to, while those at the helm check in periodically and provide the necessary tools to advance the mission: taking care of the vulnerable population in our care!
To view the entire Frontline Honors Class of 2024, visit https://frontlinehonors.com/.
