By Margie Wuebker
mwuebker@dailystandard.com MINSTER -- Two women considered by many as symbols of Heritage Manor Nursing Center retired Friday from careers they chose after raising families of their own.
Anna Marie Dircksen, 80, and Rosemary Moeller, 78, became nursing aides in the spring of 1978 -- less than a year after the facility opened.
"Anna Marie and I knew each other as girls growing up in the Maria Stein area," Moeller says at a retirement party in honor of both women. "We worked together for more than 26 years and it just seemed fitting to retire together."
The women recall Heritage Manor being much smaller in the spring of 1978. Two wings and a special unit dedicated to the needs of those with Alzheimer's disease and dementia have been added over the years. Marie Eschmeyer, the first administrator, ran a one-woman show handling everything from scheduling to payroll. Administrative duties are now handled through a team approach.
"I remember a time when we didn't have to use rubber gloves," Dircksen says. "Now we wouldn't think of doing the same things without pulling them on first." Moeller chuckles, recalling how she once believed brisk hand scrubbing would prevent the spread of germs.
"It was hard to get used to working in gloves," she adds. "Cleanliness is next to godliness but gloves afford an extra degree of safety for the patient as well as the employee."
Both women also marvel at the amount of paperwork that seemed to increase with each passing year.
"Everything has to be documented and put down black on white," Moeller says as Dircksen nods in agreement. "You have to dot all the i's and cross all the t's if you know what I mean."
The women learned the ropes from fellow employees. Today anyone wishing to work at a nursing home must successfully complete a training course and pass a state certification test.
A desire to help others initially led to their decision to fill out job applications.
Moeller, who had helped care for her parents (Herman and Leona Leugers) during their later years, realized a void that needed to be filled. Her husband, Paul, had a career in the postal service and their children -- Jim, Linda (Pleiman), Sue (Mescher), Roxanne (Spillers), Ken and Gary -- were in school.
Dircksen, the oldest of nine children, had helped care for her parents (Leo and Clara Heitkamp) as well as her mother-in-law. Her children -- Thomas, Mary Lou (Nerderman), Dorothy (Moeller), Betty Ann (Marchal), Jerry, Gerard, Ann and John -- were in school or on their own.
"I was lost after my mother-in-law died," she says. "I needed something to satisfy my maternal instincts so I applied here. I initially started part-time but liked the work so much that I switched to full-time after two months. My philosophy has been to treat residents like they were members of my family. Everybody needs a hug now and then."
Moeller has given so many baths and made so many beds over the years that she laughingly admits she could complete both tasks uneventfully in her sleep.
"I would not have stayed this long if I didn't enjoy the work," she says. "I would keep on working if my parts were not wearing out."
Marketing coordinator Lisa Inskeep says both women fit the description accompanying the Caring Angel figures they received from the fellow staff members. The tag reads: "You care and listen. You are always there for us."
"These two wonderful ladies are symbols of the nursing home," Inskeep adds. "They never failed to go above and beyond what was expected even if it meant running down to the kitchen to get jelly for a resident's toast."
Inskeep remembers the women conversing in Low German much to the delight of residents who grew up speaking the language. Their comforting tones and German words calmed dementia patients on more than one occasion when there appeared to be no comprehension of English.
Dircksen and Moeller have seen sorrow as well as happiness over the years. They have cried at the sight of stripped beds knowing the occupants had died on other shifts and rejoiced when one of their charges improved to the point of returning home.
They weathered tragedies of their own thanks to faith and the unwavering support of residents and staff alike. Dircksen lost her son, Gerard, in a farm accident, and Moeller's husband died at home early one morning following a sudden illness.
"I could not have handled Paul's death without Heritage Manor," Moeller says. "The people here gave me a reason to look forward to the dawn of a new day."
The women, who once held the distinction of being the oldest employees on the payroll, have no plans to leave the nursing home behind. Dircksen will continue to serve as a volunteer along with her husband, John, for Friday afternoon Mass as well as recitation of the rosary. Moeller also plans to volunteer provided the staff can find a place for her.
"We'll be here running up and down the halls trying to stay out of trouble," she says. "But we won't be earning paychecks in the process." |
