Dianne Modesta, CNA Leavitt Family Jewish Home
Dianne was born on the island of Trinidad, located in the West Indies. In 1983 she and her brother came to Springfield to join her parent, who had previously come seeking new work opportunities. She was 8 years old at the time. Dianna also has family living in Canada and England. She now has two sons, Richard 29 and Jarrel 22, and a beautiful grandson, Richard.
Dianne attended Commerce High School and received her CNA certification from Caregivers in Springfield. She knew that she wanted a job caring for people, and she also liked the work-life balance of every other weekend off. Dianne began working at The Jewish Nursing Home when she was 21 and has been here for 24 years! “I have been here since 1996 through the good times and the bad. I started on the A-1 neighborhood and then I moved to the C-1 neighborhood caring for people with dementia. I would float between C-1 and C-2 neighborhoods. Now I am always on C-1.”
What has kept Dianne at JGS for 24 years? “I love my residents. It is hard to get too attached because it hurts when they go. Some may be difficult but we do it, we care for them. It is hard to see what they go through. The simple things in life are often taken for granted. Like during COVID – simply breathing and being able to come and go. During the COVID isolation no one was coming out of their rooms. A lot of our residents were bored and they felt like they were being punished. We work hard to keep them busy engaged.”
“I get along with everyone, I am easy-going. I like being a jokester and making people laugh…it helps to make the day go by and it is good to laugh off your troubles. I have learned a lot here. It feels good to share my experience and show the younger staff how to do things and make things easier for them. I teach them and I listen to them.”
During the COVID crises Dianne became sick with the virus and was out of work for three weeks. “I have never taken this many sick days off, but I needed the time to feel better. I didn’t feel like doing anything, I was too sick. My family cared for me and brought me food. But I knew my residents needed me so I came back as soon as I could to care for them.”
When asked about our affiliation with Chelsea Jewish Lifecare, “Chelsea cares! They offer good incentives and they ask your opinions and listen….they include you. This makes me feel good. I also like how management works with the schedule, and they have good health benefits.”
Outside of work Dianne likes to sleep! She enjoys yard work, and taking long car rides to purposefully get lost and then find her way home, while making new discoveries along the way. This is how she discovered the Buckland Hills Mall!
We congratulate Dianne for 24 years of service to The Leavitt Family Jewish Home. We thank her for the love and care she continues to provide to so many residents as well as the leadership and support she continues to provide to so many colleagues – always with a warm and endearing smile! We wish her continued good health and happiness!
