If you don’t have that thing called ‘care,’ you really don’t have anything when it comes to serving people.Our congratulations go to Ecumen colleague Joanne Sherbrooke. Joanne has worked for more than 30 years as a nurse at Sunnyside Care Center in Lake Park, Minn. Sunnyside is managed by Ecumen and owned by Becker County.Joanne was recently named by our state trade association Aging Services of Minnesota, as Caregiver of the Year.There were a large stack of nominations that came in from Joanne’s colleagues. I’d like to share this excerpt, which tells you quite a bit about Joanne: It comes from Derek Martin, a colleague of Joanne’s:

‘As I began my career, I learned immediate from observing and working with Joanne that being a nurse was so much more than passing out medications. It’s a profession of genuine and tireless compassion and kindness. It was because of Joanne that I made the decision to attend nursing school. To this day my goal is to be a nurse like Joanne.‘Also, congratulations to the Ecumen community of Parmly LifePointes, which received one of three Excellence in Practice Awards. The award was given for the Vitalize! Wellness Centre.