A bio box for Angela Rosado
Updated: November 25, 2024
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2024 Champions of Health Care
Champions of Health Care: Rosado makes moments matter
PHOTO | courtesy of Angela Rosado
Angela Rosado (left) met with Tom Grape, founder, chairman and CEO of Benchmark Senior Living, at the Compassionate Caregiver Award event.
By Laura Finaldi
Years ago, Angela Rosado was waiting to get into Quinsigamond Community College when she learned about a certified nursing assistant program offered through the American Red Cross. She was 19 at the time, and thought if she could get sponsored to do the program, it could be a game changer.
A few months later, she found out she was pregnant, and she was advised going through the program could be overwhelming alongside motherhood. But she convinced the board to sponsor her studies anyway, and when she graduated, her son was a month and a half old.
That drive and determination, plus a deep sense of compassion and care for her patients, has led Rosado to her position as Harbor Care director at Tatnuck Park at Worcester, an assisted living and mind and memory care community under the Benchmark Senior Living umbrella.
Rosado got a front seat to working with the elderly from a young age. Her grandparents lived with her immediate family starting when she was about 12. In her two decades with Benchmark, Rosado has held many positions – everything from certified nursing assistant to weekend supervisor to a planner for resident activities. As Harbor Care director, she cares for seniors with memory disorders, doing everything she can to keep them active and happy.
For seniors with memory disorders, life can be lonely, Rosado said. At times, even their children and grandchildren stop visiting them as frequently, because they figure their loved one won’t remember them anyway. But Rosado said that’s not the case, and when it comes to caring for those seniors, she has learned small moments – even ones seeming insignificant to others – matter a lot.
“Very early on, what I realized is that dementia itself is horrific. We want it to be anything other than that, but for the folks where it is that, people write them off,” she said. “A lot of times families say, ‘I’m not going to come because she doesn't remember me anymore.’ Well, they do remember them, just in a different way.”
One group of seniors in Harbor Care loved the beach so much they would often listen to recordings of ocean waves. They felt sad and defeated because they thought they’d never get to see the ocean in person again, Rosado said. But she and her team came up with a plan to get their patients to the beach, and when they got there, they were overwhelmed with emotion.
“They’re not swimming, but it’s about being there, seeing the waves, and watching the kids play. It’s about the moment, and moments matter, even though it sounds corny,” she said. “If you make someone happy, it’s worth it. It doesn’t matter if they retain it, it makes them happy in the moment. We get to do that all the time here. It’s a gift for us.”
In the same spirit of moments matter, Rosado was instrumental in planting a garden for Harbor Care residents in the courtyard, said Laurie Cashman, executive director of Tatnuck Park at Worcester. The residents grew their own cucumbers and pickled them by themselves.
Cashman said that Rosado is caring, compassionate, and intelligent. She brings her heart and soul to the entire community – everyone from residents to colleagues, Cashman said.
“She lives and breathes it. She’s so loving to residents, they trust her, and associates in [Harbor Care] trust her implicitly,” Cashman said. “There’s never a question as to where her heart is, or what her intentions are. She wants the best for all the residents and staff here as well.”
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