Welcome back to another Day in the Life blog from Ascend, where we spotlight a member of our team and the work they do for us. This month, we’re focusing on one of our on-the-ground team members, Manny the mentor. He works overnight in our facilities, helping ensure our houses have 24-hour monitoring and support. Learn more about what he does at Ascend and how he helps our clients when you keep reading here!
What Does Manny Do?
Manny is a mentor at Ascend, specifically an overnight mentor. These are the team members who work the night shift on the floor. They prep the house at night, taking out the trash, restocking used items, and putting away everything left behind. Since Ascend provides food, water, toiletries, soaps, and other essentials, our overnight mentors need to do regular stock checks and ensure we’re not running out on anything our teens need.
Manny is also available when clients wake up in the middle of the night. He can help them through nightmares or other issues, reaching out to their therapists as needed. Manny has experience with charting, basic vital sign checks, collecting and prepping lab work, and CPR and first aid training.
Getting His Start
Before coming to Ascend, Manny worked as a Traveling Medical Assistant. He worked with cardiologists, surgeons, general practitioners, and physical therapists, learning about a variety of medical tools, treatments, exams, and medical procedures for patients across all of these fields. With such a diverse background, it’s no wonder we snatched him up to help us behind the scenes at Ascend!
Why Ascend Is The Right Fit For Manny
Manny loves working at Ascend because he gets to help young people learn more about themselves and stand up for their needs. With Manny’s assistance in practicing coping skills and finding their voice, the clients at Ascend have the tools and strength they need to continue taking care of their mental health once they leave. He loves knowing that even though he’s no longer in their lives, his encouragement and support continue to guide them and ensure a more positive outlook on any hurdles that come up in the future.
We Love Manny!
Working the overnight shift can be a tough gig, especially since most of our nurses and therapists are on-call instead of on-site. However, Manny knows how to make it work. His dedication and attention to detail ensure he knows just when to call in reinforcements. He’s also always willing to pick up the slack and get through whatever needs to be done while he’s on shift. An expert at multi-tasking, Manny has an eye on every client while completing his other responsibilities throughout the house.
We also love having Manny on our team because he’s so excited to take on new challenges, learn new things, and pass on what he’s learned.
A Day In His Life
After clocking in, Manny greets his fellow overnight mentors and gets the rundown on what happened during the day shift. This summary can help him monitor more closely any clients that struggled during the day. He then goes to check on the clients, making sure they’re sleeping and don’t require any assistance. Finally, he goes through the house, cleaning and completing chores, checking inventory on essentials, and listing items for reorder.
Next Month’s Spotlight
After this ride-along with Manny, you might be wondering what our other team members do to support clients at Ascend. Check out our other staff spotlights to discover all the positions that make a difference, including Medical Director Dr. Acosta, Admissions with Brie, and Executive Director Allison. And don’t forget to visit our blog every month to see who we’re spotlighting next!
