Thanks for working here Thursday: Candy Nelson, CNA, Short Term Rehabilitation at The Legacy

Campbell County Health is proud of its employees, and we want the CCH family and the Campbell County community to know about the good work that they do for this organization.

Allow us to introduce Candy Nelson, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) who works in Short Term Rehabilitation at The Legacy Living and Rehabilitation Center in Gillette, Wyoming. Candy has been with Campbell County Health for nearly five years, but has been in healthcare for nearly 20 years total—spending nearly 13 years in home health care in Elko, Nevada, and in Gillette.

As a CNA in Short Term Rehab, Candy's overall duties include assisting patients with getting ready for their day-to-day activities. For example, Candy will help patients get out of bed, go to the bathroom, get dressed, and walk around the facility to get to rehab or other tasks they may need to do. She'll also check their vital signs, test their blood sugar levels, help keep their room tidy and make their beds. She often works with the Short Term Rehab Occupational and Physical Therapists in assisting the patients with their exercises to help them get better and go home faster.

Candy was inspired to work in health care because she enjoys helping people. “Rehab is amazing. Watching patients’ transition back home and being a part of that journey is incredible,” she says.

Candy says the entire short term rehabilitation team at The Legacy inspires her. “The way we all work together to provide great care of our patients and residents makes me proud to be a part of it. I have worked very close with our Occupational and Physical Therapists. They have definitely made me a better and stronger CNA,” she says.

Outside of work, Candy says that she’s all about her family. “My days off are spent with my husband, our grown daughters and our grandkids. We love to be outside to camp, fish and hunt. We have decided to move to Pine Haven and live forever in our happy place,” Candy says.

We asked Candy what she likes most about working for CCH, and what excellence every day means to her. Check out her response:

“I take a lot of pride in watching the rehab residents improve and succeed. I love the team work at The Legacy and throughout the organization. I love that most of our residents are here for the short-term and go home. I love the relationships I see formed here daily, whether between staff, residents or resident with staff.

For me, excellence every day means that I’m happy to be here. I feel like we really make a difference. I take pride in everything I do.”

Candy says that the best part of being a CNA is that she gets to spend more time than nurses or doctors chatting and getting to know the patient. "Sure, it's hard work; but it's worth it to be able to help someone recover and go home. Plus, I love to talk, so it's really a natural fit for me," she says with a smile.

Thank you, Candy, for clearly loving what you do. We appreciate you!

Is there a CCH employee who went the extra mile or shows you extraordinary service? Give them a pat on the back by completing an Excellence Every Day card.

Learn more about the services available at Campbell County Health Short Term Rehabilitation at www.cchwyo.org/str.