Legend inspires others to provide excellent resident care

Ask the staff at The Legacy Living and Rehabilitation Center how to describe Tiffany Fager, and words such as resourceful, motivated, proactive, can-do attitude, go-to person, always smiling, and easy to approach are often used. This is why Tiffany has earned Campbell County Health’s Legend Award.

For those who don't know, CCH defined a Legend as, “those people who have left a permanent impression on our minds because of their deeds and actions. Ongoing demonstration of hard work, compassion, and a reputation for greatness make someone a legend.”

Tiffany Fager is the Administrative Secretary at The Legacy. She started as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in September 1998 at Pioneer Manor, and has transferred to different roles, but always continued to work at the long-term care center in Gillette, Wyoming.

Colleagues will tell you that Tiffany comes to work daily with CCH’s mission in mind and delivers excellent resident care—she inspires others in the building to work toward the goal of providing excellence every day.

“Tiffany is a tremendous asset to me, and I value her contribution to the excellence every day that The Legacy provides to our residents and staff,” says Legend Jonni Belden, RN, Vice President of Continuing Health Services. “Tiffany is always two steps ahead and proactive in all of her tasks.”

CCH Legend Mary Barks, Resident and Family Relations Coordinator at The Legacy, calls Tiffany THE hub of information at the long-term care center.

“Because of her team skills, Tiffany enjoys an excellent relationship with employees, leaders and executives throughout CCH, which opens up her resourcefulness to a level very few have across our organization,” says Mary. “This is a reflection of Tiffany’s ability to connect to people of all levels, and to build strong relationships, which only helps all of us who work at The Legacy to perform our jobs better. Tiffany’s ‘can do’ attitude is never wavering.”

In her nomination form, colleague Chelsey Petersen, RN, Administrative Director of Nursing at The Legacy, wrote: “Tiffany actively seeks out residents and their families to ask them how they are doing, and takes immediate action to resolve any concerns. Tiffany’s resourcefulness is reflected in our residents’ daily lives. She plays a pivotal part in updating our Facebook Group, which helps facilitate out-of-town family members of residents to stay present in their loved ones lives.”

Tiffany is the go-to person, regardless of the role an employee is in. She is easy to approach and will always make time to help colleagues find answers to problems. According to colleague Heather Whitt, there is no job Tiffany won’t do at The Legacy—and Heather also calls her a wealth of knowledge.

“Sharing an office with Tiffany, I see first hand how much she does for The Legacy. Even when her plate is full she never seems overwhelmed. She does any task timely with a smile on her face,” says Heather. “If she sees something out of place or not right, she fixes it. If she notices someone doing something they shouldn’t, she is the first to help correct them them; and not in a rude way.”

Tiffany’s nomination form described her efforts to create bereavement support for resident family members and staff at the time of a resident’s passing. She ensures through the use of the Life Lantern that family members know how much staff at The Legacy cared for their loved one. She also makes sure that sympathy cards are signed and mailed to family members expressing our wishes for the family.

“I am proud to work with a wonderful team who are committed to providing a loving and safe home to our residents,” says Tiffany. “Everyone gives 100% of themselves every day to make The Legacy a five-star facility. Since day one, every day has been a learning opportunity. I enjoy being everyone’s go-to girl, a jack-of-all-trades and take pride in doing my job well. Making everyone else’s jobs easier is what I try to do every day.”

The nomination form also mentioned that Tiffany coordinates the weekly safety rounds at The Legacy, which requires her to lead 15 people to complete a safety survey. This survey helps keep residents and staff safe in the building. She also proactively manages contracts, policies and communications with providers, which helps the organization control costs while providing quality care.

“Excellence every day to me is simple: it means being kind and helpful to every person I encounter,” Tiffany says. “It means that I’m lending a helping hand to my co-workers, seeing when they are struggling and being there for them. I’m always striving to do my best for our residents and my co-workers.”

When Tiffany isn’t working, she enjoys spending as much time with her family as possible. Tiffany has been married to her husband, Jerry, for 26 years now, and they have an 11-year-old daughter, Marlee.

“We typically camp from February through November, and you can find us scouting new locations every weekend,” she says. Tiffany spends much of her spare time helping her daughter with a variety of school events, as well as spending extra time with the residents at the special events staff put together at The Legacy.

“I am extremely honored and humbled to be recognized for the work I do,” says Tiffany. “I just want to do a good job every day for the people I work with and for.”

Tiffany, thank you for being committed to providing the best level of care to The Legacy residents and treating our resident’s families with compassion and respect. You are truly an example of Excellence Every Day. Congratulations.