Staff at St John’s Care Home have recently celebrated 10 years of caring for one of their beloved residents.
Elsie Schweikhardt became a resident at St John’s in July 2013, at the age of 84 and ten years on is still an established member of the St John’s family. The staff arranged for some balloons, a bouquet of flowers, a pot plant for her room and a certificate to mark the special occasion. These were presented to Elsie in her room, surrounded by members of staff, who clearly adore her.
Sharon, a care assistant at the home who has 12 years’ service at St John’s said “Elsie has always been a ray of sunshine. I have fond memories of Elsie telling me she worked on the farm with her father with the horses and that’s also where she met her husband and whilst being here at St Johns Elsie made an everlasting friendship with Gillian.”
Another person recalls how she used to chat with Elsie when she was out walking her dog and used to walk past her home and Elsie would be out in her garden with her little dog called Ronnie.
Elsie was born on 15th August 1928, in a small villager called Bicker, which is near Boston in Lincolnshire. Her mother and father had a small farm where they raised Elsie and her older sister. She attended Bicker Junior School and then Donington Grammar School. When she left school she worked on the farm, working with the horses which she loved to do. In Bicker, there was a German prisoner of war camp and they would help out the local farmers. One day Elsie’s tractor wouldn’t work, and Karl Schweikhardt jumped the dyke to help her mend it and sometime after a romance began, leading to Elsie and Karl getting married. They had three children and then went on to have six grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and 1 great, great, grandchild, she loved cats and dogs and she loved to feed the birds with her homemade Yorkshire pudding. Elsie always had a pet dog until she became a resident at St John’s Care Home where she now enjoys the company, entertainment, and food.
Celebrating with members of staff
St John’s is a well-established part of the community in Spalding, providing residential and specialist dementia care in a warm, family-led setting. They understand that everyone is different, with a variety of needs, so the key to their person-centred care is to get to know each person individually and understand their routines and find out their hobbies and interests.
For more information about St John’s Care Home or to make an appointment to view the home please contact, Morgan Hicks, Customer Relations Manager on 01775 710 567 or email careenquiries@countrycourtcare.com.
