Front Porch Podcast – Spring Lake Village Team Member Randi Jorgenson

Anna Hall: Welcome to The Front Porch Podcast. Join us as we uncover the extraordinary stories of people who are part of Front Porch Communities and Services, young professionals just starting their journeys, lifelong learners pursuing new passions and seasoned storytellers sharing the wisdom they’ve gained along the way. Together, we’ll explore how purpose and community shape us with stories that will inspire you to discover your own unique contribution.

Views expressed by guests on this podcast are the opinion of the speaker, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Front Porch Communities and Services. Please see our show notes for more details.

I’m your host, Anna Hall. When I first started working in senior living I was really attracted to the opportunity to get to know older adults and to hear their stories and to learn about the past and have a new way to think about the future based on the wisdom and knowledge and advice of people who had been living on this earth much longer than me.

Over time, there were parts of me that started to feel a little worried about senior living because I thought, why are we encouraging older adults to move to this place on a hill where they’re disconnected from the larger community? And I lived with that and sat with that for a while. But what I’m learning now more than ever at Front Porch is that community is really more of an interconnected ecosystem.

By nature of a senior living community, we have people of all ages and stages of life interacting together in every moment of every day in different ways. We have people who are working in our culinary and dining program who are in college or high school, or it’s their first job. We have people who have been working at communities for 35 years, and then we have people all in between. We have volunteers in our communities. Our residents volunteer beyond the walls of our communities.

So that’s why I love the image of Front Porch so much, because our communities are a gateway to both continuing to live an incredible life filled with possibilities within community, and deeply connected to the fabric of a local community, a state, a global community, by virtue of the incredible people who work and live in our community. So my definition and the way that I feel about community has definitely evolved from being a place where older adults live to this thriving, interconnected place where people can learn and grow and have incredible possibilities ahead of them because they feel cared about and they care for others. It’s pretty amazing. I can’t imagine doing anything else now.

Our guest today is Randi Jorgenson. She’s the housekeeping manager at Spring Lake Village. After joining Spring Lake Village as a housekeeper in May 1990, Randi has been serving Spring Lake Village residents with increasing levels of responsibility ever since. Randi was first promoted to lead housekeeper, scheduling the maintenance of then 260 cottages and apartments before being promoted to housekeeping manager, overseeing the teams that clean homes for more than 400 people who live at Spring Lake Village. Thanks so much for joining us, Randi. Welcome to the Porch.

Randi Jorgenson: Thank you. I appreciate you having me.

Anna Hall: So, we’d like to get to know you a little bit more. Could you tell us a little bit about you?

Randi Jorgenson: I currently live in Windsor. I’ve been happily married for 25 years. I have a daughter. She’s 26. We have two cats and two dogs. We just got a puppy. His name is Hank.

Anna Hall: Aw.

Randi Jorgenson: He’s a lot. He’s a handful, but he’s very cute. I enjoy coming to work every day. I have… It’s a good life.

Anna Hall: It sounds like you’ve been working at Front Porch longer than you’ve been married.

Randi Jorgenson: Correct.

Anna Hall: So, what is it that brought you to the front porch of Spring Lake Village? What attracted you?

Randi Jorgenson: Spring Lake is a beautiful community. I was in the field of housekeeping. I did private housekeeping, and also I did… I worked at Motel 6. And then I wanted to just make a career move. So I came here and just took one look at the community and just fell in love and got the job, and, and now I’m a manager, and I manage a group of 36 employees.

Anna Hall: What was different about housekeeping in a senior living community?

Randi Jorgenson: I’m able to connect with a lot of residents on many different levels. They know that they can count on me. I’m always there. I always tell them, you know, call me whether it’s part of housekeeping or not. More or less, I’m probably going to know where to direct you to. So, I just feel like we’re all just one big family. It really is… It really, really is a great place to work. And we’ve been named that how many years in a row now? I think five?

Anna Hall: Oh, she’s so proud. Oh, congratulations.

Randi Jorgenson: Yeah.

Anna Hall: Your role is very complex. You have scheduling, logistics, probably all kinds of safety things. And then you really have an understanding of people, both residents and your team.

Randi Jorgenson:  Yes. Yes. I take care of the scheduling of all all the schedules throughout the whole community. I do set ups and teardowns of all the events around here. I do shampoo cleanings, we have personal laundry service. I do all the general cleaning set up, some supply ordering. We have a, a big board in our office,

Anna Hall: Oh, I remember seeing that board when I visited. Wow. We took pictures. It was so impressive.

Randi Jorgenson: Yes. You know we’ve had people, different people, even from different communities here through the years.  The only thing that I’ve heard back is you’re the most organized place that I’ve been.

Anna Hall: You have been promoted many times.

Randi Jorgenson: Mmm hmm.

Anna Hall: What is it about you that made you eligible for these promotions? How did you do that?

Randi Jorgenson: I get the job done. Nobody needs to micromanage me. I work well with all of the management team. I just feel like I’m a vital part to the operations. And people see that. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I…

Anna Hall: Toot your own horn.

Randi Jorgenson: I feel like…

Anna Hall: Obviously,

Randi Jorgenson: Yeah…

Anna Hall: You’re an incredible person and an incredible leader.

Randi Jorgenson: It’s really nice knowing a lot of people believe in me and and trust me and know I can make good decisions.

Anna Hall: I hear that trust. How… How did you build trust with the residents?

Randi Jorgenson: Follow through. Follow through with them is so big. And them knowing I’m here and I’m going to make sure their request is, you know, taken care of.

Anna Hall: You mentioned that you have a team of… did you say 39 or 37?

Randi Jorgenson: 36.

Anna Hall: How do you manage such a large team?

Randi Jorgenson:  Well, you know, another impressive thing is five of those people on the housekeeping team have been here over 25 years. Which says a lot, not only for the community, but for the housekeeping department and the management and how things are run.

Anna Hall: When a member of your team enters a resident’s home, that’s a very special, intimate space.

Randi Jorgenson: It is.

Anna Hall: How do you teach them to show up in that space?

Randi Jorgenson:  I always tell the team we’re the eyes and the ears of Spring Lake Village. We’re the first, we’re the closest, most intimate spot in the community, in their homes. We often are able to see when there’s not only changes in the residents, but in their living spaces. So we’re a very crucial part to this operation.

Anna Hall: Have you ever visited a resident in their apartment, in their home and noticed a change? And what was that like?

Randi Jorgenson:  Well, you can often see changes not only in their personality but in their their houses, where maybe something’s not as organized as it used to be or, they’re not showing up for certain things. They’re leaving food out or you know, the, the animals aren’t get cleaned up after. You know, we see a lot of things.

Anna Hall: And part of that noticing is through that connection that your team builds with residents.

Randi Jorgenson: Absolutely.

Anna Hall: What are some of the most special moments that you’ve had with residents over the years?

Randi Jorgenson: There’s been many. For instance, we met with a resident yesterday, the caregiver of her spouse, and they’ve been married for 63 years. And we talked to her about things that we can do moving forward for her as she ages in place and we were able to come up with some of those, you know, important things and her knowing that we would be able to take care of those needs really put her at ease.

She sent me an email this morning how much she appreciated it and it just was very helpful for her. She just feels at peace.

Anna Hall: How do you feel when you get an email like that?

Randi Jorgenson: I just love it.

Anna Hall: What have you learned through your experience at Spring Lake Village about life? What has this community taught you?

Randi Jorgenson: Patience. How you can give even just a little bit and just how appreciative people are. You know, you can feel counted on and you feel respected and, and all those things just, you know, I,I always tell the team, I said, “Come to work, do the best you can. And when you go home and you feel that – it’s a good day.

Anna Hall: You shared that residents have made such a difference in your life and taught you so much. Are you seeing that same impact with your team and residents? You see relationships being built?

Randi Jorgenson: Yes. The residents love the housekeeping team. We get a lot of, a lot of kudos that we share with the staff every day.

Anna Hall: Do you have a story of a connection between a housekeeper and a resident that you could share?

Randi Jorgenson: Well, just yesterday, Auxilio and Jose were over in a unit, and the resident had asked for some additional services, and she said, “These guys are amazing. And they did more than I ever expected.” And they… she says how polite they are and how willing. And it that’s the kind of feedback that I just love to hear.

Anna Hall: It sounds like this is more than just a job for your team too.

Randi Jorgenson: Mmm hmm.

Anna Hall: Simply the fact that they go above and beyond means that they care.

Randi Jorgenson: Absolutely.

Anna Hall: How do you show your people that they’re valued?

Randi Jorgenson: You always want to say, “Thank you.  Thank you for all you do.” We try to say that…  good morning to everybody. “We appreciate it. Appreciate all you do.” To have a good day. Please. And thank you. You know, all those things are important because they’re the ones, ultimately that are getting the job done.

Anna Hall: You’ve been through some really hard times at Spring Lake Village, too. There was a fire. What was that like?

Randi Jorgenson: We’ve had a couple fires, couple of evacuations. The fire in 2017 came

pretty close to my house.

Anna Hall: Oh, I’m so sorry. Is your home okay?

Randi Jorgenson: It is. But that first one where a lot of our employees lost their homes, You know, we were the essential workers. So a lot of people were able to come in and help. And, you know, I felt like we were a big part of just getting the residents back to their homes. We did a lot of cleaning. We did refrigerator cleaning because the power was out. So once again, housekeeping, you know, you can’t only say that it’s just housekeeping. It’s not just housekeeping. We’re a big part of what makes the community stay beautiful and stay clean. And then Covid. Covid was a big thing as well. When everybody was staying home and staying sheltered, we were coming to work because our residents need us. I don’t know, you really feel like a sense of purpose. The residents count on us, and we’re here for them.

Anna Hall: Do you ever count on the residents?

Randi Jorgenson: I feel like they give me a lot of what I need, They give me a lot of, you know, please don’t ever plan to retire. Please don’t go anywhere. You know, we need you. And we couldn’t do it without you. So I feel like they give me a lot on a daily basis.

Anna Hall: How do you see yourself continuing to grow and learn?

Randi Jorgenson: Keeping an open mind, being willing to, embrace the change and keep focused, Keep learning from not only the residents, but everybody else around you.

Anna Hall: When you look back at your career, say, if you ever retire, which you may not from the way that it sounds, but when you look back, what will you look back upon and hold in your heart as those moments that really mattered?

Randi Jorgenson: What a great choice I made by starting and ending my career at Spring Lake Village and working for Front Porch Communities.

Anna Hall: You’ve been listening to The Front Porch Podcast. I’m your host, Anna Hall. Our theme music was composed by Geoven Snaer and Dianne Kae Enriquez. Carmen Elena Mitchell is our producer and editor. Our recording engineer is Jeff Gall. Spring Lake Village technical support provided by Tom Medeiros and Gary Nelson. Special thanks to Laura Darling for production and marketing support. And to Joseph Escobar for our show art design.

The Front Porch Podcast is a production of Front Porch Communities and Services. If you enjoyed today’s conversation, please share it with a friend and help others find us by subscribing and leaving a review.

We’ll be back soon with more stories from the fascinating folk who live and work at Front Porch. Until then, stay connected and inspired.