Tammy Kiefer’s first job, at the age of 15, was at a senior living community. This allowed her to discover how much she enjoyed working with older adults.
That first job started her on a career path that, decades later, culminated in her new role as the Vice President of Clinical Services for Heritage Pointe Communities. Heritage Pointe of Huntington, Heritage Pointe of Fort Wayne, and Heritage Pointe of Warren senior living communities are owned and operated by The United Methodist Memorial Home (UMMH), an Indiana non-profit.
Kiefer, a resident of Huntington, says, “I worked in every department in senior living and then I decided that I liked the nursing aspect the most. It brought me the most satisfaction—doing things that made residents smile.”
As she continued to work, she advanced her education, becoming a certified nursing assistant, a licensed practical nurse and a registered nurse.
In addition to working full-time in senior living, she also worked part-time in a hospital.
“I learned skills in the hospital that made me a better nurse,” she says.
Kiefer’s next career steps were to become a director of nursing and then a quality assurance/regional nurse in senior living.
Growing up in the Warren area, she was familiar with Heritage Pointe’s reputation for quality. She likes the emphasis the communities put on providing a high quality of care and warm atmosphere.
In her new role, she supports staff at all three of the communities, getting to know them, ensuring they are equipped to provide the best possible care for residents and encouraging them to continue their training.
“Heritage Pointe can give them opportunities to excel on the career ladder,” she says.
Her mission at Heritage Pointe also “is to make sure we provide residents with quality of care and quality of life,” she says. “I want to make sure that residents are treated with respect and that staff provides the care that I would want for my own parents.”
As part of her role, Kiefer looks forward to being active and interacting with other health and professional organizations where she says, “You can learn to keep up with best practices.”
In keeping with her roots in providing direct care to residents, Kiefer also plans to be a visible presence in all three communities, getting to know both residents and staff.
“I love the resident interaction,” she says. “I’ve been doing that my whole career. It feels like I am doing something purposeful and gives me a fullness in my heart that I can’t explain.”
