Meet Kimberley Mann, Lifestyles Manager at our Hastings Court Care Home in East Sussex

At Oakland Care, our staff come from all walks of life. Some, like Kimberley Mann, our Lifestyles Manager at our Hastings Court Care Home have very personal reasons for choosing a career in care.

Kimberley manages our activities team at Hastings Court, organising and planning activities for our residents to ensure they are mentally and physically stimulated, enabling them to continue living life to their fullest. Here Kimberley tells us her story and why she chose to work in care.

“I’ve been at Hastings Court for nearly two years, after previously working as a Care Assistant out in the community. I made the decision to pursue a career in care after losing my partner to cancer.

“At that time in our lives we had to rely on carers and they made such a difference at a difficult time, helping with my partner and supporting me and my children. I decided I wanted to help others and make a difference to somebody else.

“During my time in the community I worked with a wide range of people all with different needs but I really enjoyed working with people who were living with dementia.”

Speaking about working at Hastings Court, Kimberley said: “I jumped at the chance to join the team at Hastings Court as it has such a good reputation in the area.

“I worked as a Carer on the Dementia Unit for a year and soon realised that as well as having their personal needs met, it was just as important to take care of peoples’ mental wellbeing. I learnt that I really enjoyed organising things that would stimulate our residents and most importantly made them happy.

“I then applied for a job on the Lifestyles team, organising activities for residents within the home. After nearly a year of being Lifestyles Assistant, the opportunity to become Lifestyles Manager came along and I stepped up into the role.

“I find every day rewarding and enjoy the challenge of coming up with new and exciting activities for my residents. I really love the one team approach that we have here at Hastings Court and how we are like a big family, all with the same goal to ensure all our residents are given the best care possible and most importantly that they each feel loved and are happy.

It’s the best feeling in the world seeing a smiling laughing, resident and knowing that it was something you did that made them feel that way.”

Find out more about Hastings Court Care Home, East Sussex.