By Brittney Mangum
bmangum@clarkecountytrib.com
“Always remember to put God first in everything you do. Never forget your faith,” advised Brandi McGowan. “That’s going to take you a long way. In this world, you’re going to come across a lot of people, and a lot of things are going to make you do something different. You have to stand stern on your faith and beliefs. Just always try to do what you know is right, and treat others right.”
Brandi McGowan stands strongly on her faith each day. She believes in treating others well and helping them as much as she can, and she took on a job that allows her to make a difference in the lives of others.
“I had my oldest daughter, and I knew growing up that I wanted to become a nurse. I knew that starting out as a CNA first would help me reach that goal, so I did the classes,” remembered Brandi. “I had my son and had to stop school, so I just went full time and was taking care of my children. I had four years working at East Mississippi because that’s how I got my certification. I left there because I wanted to try and work at the private nursing home. I went to Golden Living and stayed there about five years. I was still working there when I started at Lakeside. I was working two jobs.”
She has held numerous positions while working at Lakeside and is now furthering her education to be able to make even more of a positive impact on her patients.
“I’ve been here at Lakeside for 16 years,” informed Brandi. “I started out working on the floor as a CNA. Then, around five or so years ago I was the activities director. At the first of the year, I applied for social services, and now this is what I’m doing. I’m in school now to get my Associate’s in Health and Human Services.”
With her new position in social services, she has taken on a multitude of responsibilities.
“I’m social service supervisor here, so I handle residents coming in and set discharge goals if they are going to be discharged back home or set goals for them to reach if they will be staying long term. I do that and assist the nurses, doctors, or site nurse practitioner. Like if a patient has certain behaviors, I have to notify the nurse and site nurse practitioner or doctor. I have to make sure the patients make it to all their appointments as if they were home, so we transport them if they have an appointment with services we don’t offer here,” explained Brandi. “Other than that, communication with families is pretty much what I do. If a resident comes in saying they need clothes or anything, I make sure that it’s done. If someone says they need to speak with a pastor, I have to get in contact with Bro. Dennis Coats or the preacher from the resident’s church to come. I have to set up the home health services for people being discharged back home, and I work with all the hospice agencies. I work with pretty much everyone and do a lot of communication.”
She loves her job and being able to help the elderly community.
“Just the love for the elderly population is why I do what I do,” expressed Brandi. “I want to be working with the elderly population. I want to be a voice for the residents and elderly population.”
Along with her job, she loves her family and has a strong focus on them. She makes sure to spend as much time with them as she possibly can.
“My family is very important to me,” proclaimed Brandi. “I’m the mother of four children. That’s where all my time is spent—with my children. My parents are still living, so I enjoy spending time with my parents. Whatever they need me to do, I’m right there for them.”
While she is passionate about helping others, Brandi is also very adventurous and enjoys traveling and exploring different places. She has already been to multiple places and has a list of other spots she’d like to visit in the future. Her love of travel started with her family when she was younger.
“My mom and dad would always take me out of town. I love to go to the coast. Every year for a long time, they would take me to the coast,” declared Brandi. “As I got older, I would just travel going to different states. I like to see and do things that others may not want to do. I love exploring caves. There is a cave that I want to go to that is in Arkansas. I’ve been to Colorado. I’ve been to Niagara Falls. I’ve been to Florida numerous times. My daughter lives in Kenosha, Wisconsin, so I’ve been there. My sister lives in Illinois, so I’ve been to Chicago several times. I want to go to the Grand Canyon, and I want to go to Alaska. Those are my two places that I want to go before I leave this earth.”
She also has something she enjoys doing in her spare time when she isn’t able to travel. Brandi possesses a green thumb and loves to work with plants.
“My main hobby is flowers. I love plants,” informed Brandi. “I like a variety of plants, but I’m finding myself liking the tropical plants. They’re hard to grow; once you get them started, you have to take care of them because they require a lot of care.”
No matter what each day brings, Brandi makes sure to bring a smile to others and offers a listening ear to anyone who simply needs to talk. She makes sure to treat others with love and respect. She will continue to bring joy and love to the residents at Lakeside, her family, and everyone she meets.
If you would like to nominate someone for Person of the Week, contact Brittney Mangum at 601-776-3726.
