Posted
3 March 2021
Careers Week: Care Work is Career of a Lifetime for Lorraine
They say that those who work in care are born with a longing to look after others and that was certainly the case for Lorraine Laker, care coordinator at Rogers House, who knew from a young age exactly what she wanted to do.
“I always had a propensity, even as a young child, to be in the care sector in some way,” says Lorraine, “In my early school years I wanted to be a nurse but once I fully understood the amount of time and study it would take, I didn’t think I’d be able to do it.
“When I left school, I commenced a two-year health and social care course, which really gave me the grounding to drill into what I wanted to do, as the course covered everything, from children to the elderly. At this point I was taking care of my grandmother too and by the second year of the course, I realised I’d found my niche, elderly care.
“From college I went straight to a residential care home run by the council, where I worked as a carer for six years, I left to start a family. In 1992, after having my second child, I was eager to get back to care and that was when I found the job opening at Rogers House, which was due to open shortly in Wigmore. The rest is history!
“For the first seven years I worked as a night carer, as it worked having children, then in 1999 I was promoted to a senior carer. From then on, I went on to be deputy manager, assistant manager and even a spell as the home manager. Over the years the training has been both extensive and rewarding, in not just improving my skills from the roots to management level, but for my own personal development too.
“I love getting to know the families and supporting them to manage with the difficult decisions that lay ahead for their loved ones and making the transition of moving into care as smooth as possible. There have been many changes in the past 29 years at Rogers House, but I have always enjoyed all the challenges that this job brings and the difference I can make to people’s lives.”
