JACKSON, WY– “There’s a lot of knowledge in this building. A lot of wisdom.”
So says Legacy Lodge’s newest staff nurse, Mark Henderson.
Legacy Lodge has undergone a lot of changes recently. Henderson is one of three new Legacy Lodge employees, alongside physical therapist Mouna Goyette and Director of Admissions Lynnze Martinsen. All three hope to bring a young, uplifting energy to Legacy Lodge and its aging residents. If you were to draw a Venn Diagram for the three of them, in each of their individual circles you’d find their job titles. In the center circle, the one that unites them, you’d find the same passions: passion for the mountains that called them to Jackson, for enhancing quality of life in aging people and communities, and for helping aging people celebrate life.
“Helping families and aging adults through this emotional process, that’s kind of been my niche,” Martinsen said.
And the residents they work with aren’t the only beneficiaries of their work. In helping people reconnect with their passions, Legacy Lodge employees often reconnect with their own joy.
“Everyone’s putting their hardest [work] into making residents comfortable, happy,” Henderson said. “The pursuit of happiness still burns within them. We’re searching for it too, finding it here with them. They add to our pursuit of happiness.”
Buckrail sat down with Legacy Lodge’s newest employees to talk about their journeys to Jackson, their philosophies of care, and celebrating life. To give them the spotlights they deserve, we’re introducing the one at a time, in a three-part series. First up, meet Lynnze Martinson:
Lynnze Martinsen:
What brought you to Jackson/Legacy Lodge?
Born and raised in small town Nebraska and being a collegiate athlete, I found myself wanting to be known for who I was as a person, instead of as the athlete I was. I went off to Omaha, Nebraska after college to embark on this journey. Growing up, I never had the opportunity to travel, and I’ve always believed there is a big world out there. I wanted to experience all I could in order to grow and expand myself. I began traveling and my first time in the mountains brought a feeling of “home” I’ll never forget. In the mountains, I felt the stresses of everyday life disappear, and a serenity that was indescribable.
Coupled with that, I worked in the corporate world for 8 years after college and realized the corporate mentality didn’t align with my heart. I found myself trying to survive more than helping others, which is my passion and purpose in life. At a cross road in life, I wasn’t sure what it meant, and a friend told me about a job working with seniors with Nye Health Service in Fremont, Nebraska, where our company’s home office is located. I took her up on the opportunity and looked into it, and the rest is history. I found a place of genuine compassion, care, and purpose – all things that aligned in my heart. I had been with Nye Health for three years working for an independent and assisted living community at this time. Because Nye Health Services is a small family owned business, our upper management is often visible, and through conversation and sharing, they knew my love for outdoor activities (biking, hiking, backpacking, camping). When the opportunity opened in Jackson, they asked me if I would be interested. Underneath it all, I always dreamt of living in the mountains as I pursued my passion and purpose in helping others. It just so happened that dreams do come true.
How do you help residents celebrate life?
Joy can be found wherever you look, if you choose to see it. As one battles with a loss of independence, they can sometimes lose track of their joy for life in the process. I want to help them find this joy again, and one way I really enjoying doing that is by getting them to share about who they are as a person. I am so fascinated by hearing others’ stories – where they grew up, their trials and challenges over the years and how they overcame them, their accomplishments, their families, their talents, and so on. I find that in hearing others’ stories, I see my own reflection. I am reminded that we are all more alike than we think, and we all hold value in this world and can learn something from each other. At the end of the day, we all want to be loved, appreciated, and valued – I want our residents and anyone I work with to know and feel this.
Immediate and long-term goals?
Being new to Jackson, I have a lot to learn, and feel before I can be of any help to our team, our residents, our prospects, and our community, I need to get connected with our team, our residents, and the senior resources around Jackson and learn how they all fit into the big picture. This will help me quickly become a resource for anyone who reaches out to us at Legacy Lodge looking for answers, or even just information.
Long-Term
This building has been through a lot of change before Nye Health Services took ownership, and I believe constant change affects the number one most important thing in any business, especially when you’re providing care for others. It’s a building’s culture. It’s the aspect people “feel” when they walk in the doors. It’s what keeps people coming back or what keeps them away, and it can be destroyed overnight, but take months or years to re-build. Therefore, my goal is to assist our team in creating a culture of greatness – a culture everyone will talk about and want to be a part of. If we do that, everything else falls in place. I want Legacy Lodge to be the place our seniors want to be because of our high standard of care and services they receive along with the meaning they find living with us. The change in momentum is already happening because we are already hearing the good word out on the streets. My goal is to keep that momentum going and see what we can all accomplish together.
