Melissa Connors
Lansing,MI
Summary
Seeking a position where I can utilize my knowledge and expertise to best serve the company’s mission statement. The work experience over my career has mainly been in customer service, office administration, and supervising staff. I am looking to expand on the above and add to the list of knowledge and skills. Immediately following high school graduation, I gained employment as a teaching paraprofessional with special needs students. This included admin tasks, budgeting, fundraising, flexible and adaptable work environment to meet the changing needs of the students. We even took our students to the Charlotte Peckham twice a week. Worked on their potential job skills and monitored their production. After 17 years, the superintendent at that time, decided to downsize to meet budget issues, which included my position. Afterwards, I sought out employment with odd jobs/positions for a few years until I gained employment in my current position. This position has allowed me to expand on customer service and administrative tasks, along with gaining new supervisory skills over the last 5 years to present day.
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
Work History
Activities Director /Life Enrichment Director
Provision Living Of East Lansing/ StoryPoint Abbot Park
07.2022 - Current
- Scheduled movies, entertainment, and other special events.
- Documented preferences and helped develop relevant activities.
- Coordinated off-site activities and accompanied residents throughout excursions.
- Networked with community organizations and leaders for volunteer opportunities and cooperative engagements.
- Created and delivered recreational programs for small and large groups of residents.
- Worked with nursing team to identify and document changes in patient mental acuity and physical abilities.
- Designed wide variety of activities to stimulate interest, involvement, and engagement of patients.
- Trained and provided information to new volunteers to contribute to activities and programs in constructive ways.
- Supervised Activities Assistant and conducted performance evaluations.
- Developed and lead intergenerational activities to encourage mental agility of patients.
- Evaluated supplies and requested purchases to meet activity plans.
- Promoted exceptional quality of life for residents by innovating, organizing, and conducting entertaining and stimulating activities.
Life Experience Program Director
Vista Springs Timber Ridge Village
11.2017 - 01.2022
- Overseeing 4 residential buildings, 90 residents when full capacity
- ~ Supervisory Responsibilities
- Life Engagement coordinators, assistants and volunteers.
- Hire, train, schedule and maintain a qualified staff
- Recruit and coordinate volunteers
- Budgeting (monthly, quarterly, and annually)
- Perform other duties as directed by the Executive Director.
- Staff team building, employee relations, celebrations, etc. to increase employee moral
- Coordinating, scheduling, arranging transportation of medical related appointments
- ~ Duties reflected are for all 4 facilities:
- Plan, schedule and implement quality activities, recruit entertainment for monthly special occasions
- Prepare the monthly activities calendars.
- Update the activity boards.
- Processing all emergency and non-emergency medical transfers
- Maintain required files for life enrichment documentation
- Current and new resident activity assessments.
- Care plan for resident activity levels.
- Create and maintain relationships with residents and their families.
- Resident council meetings
- Schedule, plan and prepare for special events and resident outings.
- Shuttle bus driver (15 passengers or less)
- Prepare the newsletters.
- Purchase supplies as needed.
- Thank you cards and other correspondence
- Verifying and updating demographics / insurance information
- Orders flowers for new resident, birthdays, funerals, etc.
- Ensuring equipment is functioning properly.
- Mail delivery for resident personal and banking services
- Community relations and networking
Home Health Aide
Loving Hands Home Care Agency
08.2014 - 02.2018
- Traveling home health aide serving elderly clients.
- Helping with day-to-day chores, medications, preparing meals, transportation to shopping and medical appointments, preparing them for bedtime routines, and anything else the client may need to be comforted and/or taken care of.
- I work well with the clients and their supporting families.
- Assist clients with ambulation and mobility around the house or outside
- Assist clients with personal care and hygiene
- Help clients with physical therapy exercises
- Keep daily logs of duties and time.
- Follow state laws and company policies pertaining to elderly care.
Paraprofessional
Eaton Regional Education Service Agency
02.1999 - 11.2017
- ~Assisted numerous wheelchairs bound students and students with multiple disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Cystic Fibrosis, Tracheotomy, and Moderately Cognitively Impaired students in and out of the classroom.
- ~Responsible to provide training and supervision of impaired students under the guidance of the teacher on site or in the community.
- ~Performed tube feedings, breathing treatments and administered various medications to students.
- ~Help supervise and assist with daily circle time and independently instructed small groups.
- ~Aided with Special Olympics Track and Field Day.
- ~Facilitated the needs of fragile children and adults into different positions and equipment such as pacers (walker), move chairs, standers, bean bags, side layers, toilets, wedges and bikes.
- ~Assisted the students in a variety of Occupational and Physical therapy tasks.
- ~Incorporated several technologies in the students daily learning such as Smart Boards, I pad, Eye gaze, Big Mack ~Communicator such as Go Talks and Express One devices, Board Maker and other computer programs.
- ~Ability to lift 50+lbs, push/pull equipment as needed, bending, lifting, walking, carrying, and climbing stairs.
- ~Able to do basic and complex housekeeping duties for instance: laundry, sweeping, moping, bed care, bathrooms, classrooms, etc.
- ~Vast experience in stocking and organizing office supplies, personal health care items for students, candies/snacks for student store also community shopping for items to restock above mentioned items.
Education
2 Semesters - Study of the Arts
Lansing Community College
Lansing, MI, United StatesDiploma -
Charlotte High School
Charlotte, MI, United States01.1998
Skills
- Knowledge of medical terminology
- Privacy Act
- HIPAA
- Records Management
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Typing speed 40 wpm
- Proficient in English (written, spoken, and read)
Timeline
Activities Director /Life Enrichment Director
Provision Living Of East Lansing/ StoryPoint Abbot Park
07.2022 - Current
Life Experience Program Director
Vista Springs Timber Ridge Village
11.2017 - 01.2022
Home Health Aide
Loving Hands Home Care Agency
08.2014 - 02.2018
Paraprofessional
Eaton Regional Education Service Agency
02.1999 - 11.2017
2 Semesters - Study of the Arts
Lansing Community College
Diploma -
Charlotte High School