Betsy Williams

I started my healthcare journey at around 18 years old, taking care of my grandmother, following a family tradition since my mom and pretty much all my family has always been in healthcare. I watched my mom be a CNA pretty much all my life, and when I was young, if I got out of school, I had to go make beds. I worked as a CNA in hospital settings, and after COVID first started, I took the summer off to raise my daughter who was very young at the time. Then I went into nursing home and long-term care, where my mother used to work. It was while caring for my grandmother who got dementia and Alzheimer's that I found my true calling. Five years ago, I decided to branch off from the CNA aspect and nursing and joined the activity, leisure, recreational therapy department at Willow Point, the only non-profit nursing home in Broome County. I've been there for 5 years doing activities, care plans, MBSs, and mostly the fun stuff. Instead of dealing so much with the medication part of it, it's more about the mental aspect and getting to keep residents happy and helping them keep their skills that they do have, such as writing. Dementia has become my soft spot, my specialty. I recently hit my 5-year mark at Willow Point, and it's really more like a family there. I love hearing all the old stories from the elderly and getting to learn from them about how things used to be, their struggles, and how they overcame them.