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FACES AT THE MOUNT

Friends say Debbie Rafferty is one of a ‘kind’

It’s not difficult to compile the adjectives that friends and co-workers use to describe Debbie Rafferty. There are only so many ways to say “kind, compassionate, and giving.”

“Debbie is one of the most charitable, caring people I’ve ever worked with,” said Sister Betsy Moyer, health care administrator at Saint Joseph Villa. “She listens to the sisters and has heartfelt concern for their needs.”

“She’s just a good person,” said Bonnie Peabody, a housekeeping assistant in the Villa who’s been friends with Debbie for six years. “She’s kind and she helps everybody, the sisters and the employees.”

“Her joyful spirit and compassion for all people” make Debbie special, said Sister Jean Madeline Peake, one of the sisters Debbie serves in the Villa. “She’s there for anybody who needs it.”

Debbie shares a laugh with her friend, Sister Lennora Carrico, in her room at Saint Joseph Villa

Debbie may be the only person who doesn’t see what the fuss is about. She’s just doing the job she loves.

“It’s quiet and peaceful here,” she said. “The sisters appreciate everything you do for them. They’re just like family,” Debbie said. “When you come to work and they say, ‘Oh, we’re so glad to see you,’ it makes you feel good.”

Debbie had a job frying fish at Diamond Lake resort in 1988 when a friend asked if she wanted to apply for a nurse assistant job at Mount Saint Joseph. She started that September, helping bathe the sisters and tend to all their needs.

For the past six years she’s been a Kentucky Medication Aide, in which she orders and dispenses medicine, and assists with whatever is needed. She works the 1:30 to 10 p.m. shift as the lone KMA.

“I love coming to work,” Debbie said. She recalled an employee once saying to her, “I don’t understand you, you always come to work with a smile.” To her, it’s just normal.

“I’m just a happy person, there’s no need to frown,” she said. “I don’t think I could frown anyway.”

Sister Betsy said her commitment to the sisters is evident.

“She’s a very giving person, a very loving person,” Sister Betsy said. “She could easily be a leader, because she’s driven to do things well.”

“She rarely takes a day off,” Sister Betsy said. “She feels like it’s important and she needs to be here. She just considers it a privilege to work here. We have to tell her to take her (PTO) days.”

Turnover at Saint Joseph Villa can be a problem, but Debbie said she plans to be here until she retires.

“Some people don’t know what they’re getting into, so they leave,” Debbie said. “If you like working with older people, this is the best place to be. They really love you here, you have no doubt.”

Debbie makes three stops for each sister per shift, pushing her medication cart, either to bring medicine or just check on them. All the sisters want to talk with her when she stops by, she said.

“They look forward to you coming to visit,” Debbie said.

“All the sisters love Debbie, she’s so compassionate and helpful,” Sister Jean Madeline said.

 

Debbie shares a laugh with her friend, Sister Lennora Carrico, in her room at Saint Joseph Villa

Debbie said Sister Jean Madeline is teaching her to quilt.

“I have a quilt in my bedroom and she didn’t know how to even make a stitch,” Sister Jean Madeline said. “I showed her how and she really appreciated it.”

“I feel like she’s my really special friend,” Sister Jean Madeline said.

The sister who’s closest to Debbie is Sister Lennora Carrico.

“We’ve been through a lot together,” Sister Lennora said. “I talk things over with her. She’s like my family. She’s such a family-oriented person.”

The other employees in the Villa know how close Debbie and Sister Lennora are. A few years ago, Sister Lennora fell and hit her head and there was concern she might not survive.

“I was out of it for a whole week,” Sister Lennora said. “The nurses went to Debbie and said, ‘See if you can get her to come awake,’” Sister Lennora said.

On her off days, Debbie will take some of the sisters out to eat, shopping, or offer to bring them something from a store, said Nesie Powell, a KMA who works the morning shift. The two have worked together for 17 years, and she counts Debbie as one of her best friends.

“She’s very reliable, and does her job well and very thoroughly,” Nesie said. “Back when we worked the same shift, we were always laughing about something.”

Pearl Quinn, the receptionist at the Mount, said when the October 2007 tornado tore the roof off Debbie’s house, her co-workers took up a donation for her.

Sister Jean Madeline Peake calls Debbie her “very special friend,” as the two visit at Saint Joseph Villa.

“That shows how much everyone cares about her,” Pearl said.

Bonnie was the only housekeeper on the second shift when she began six years ago, and sought Debbie’s guidance.

“I was so lost I was like a blind dog in a meat house,” Bonnie said. “Debbie was the one I went to and we just hit it off. We tell each other all our secrets.”

For fun, Debbie and her neighbors play cards every other Saturday night. Otherwise she spends time with her family.

Her grandson, Nikk, a sophomore at Apollo, still lives with her and her husband. Nikk is autistic and has lived with Debbie all his life.

“He is a joy. He taught me to enjoy life,” she said. “He enjoys everything.”

Her husband, Tony, is retired from the National Guard and works on the family farm raising cows. Debbie loves the rural life.

“I don’t think I could live in town where the houses are side by side,” she said.

Debbie said the hardest part of her job is getting so close with the sisters and then losing them.

“They like it because they want to go to heaven,” Debbie said. “But you never want to let them loose.”

- written by Dan Heckel