THURSDAY, APR IL 30, 2020 • KOKOMO TR IBUNE / PHAROS-TR IBUNE
17
BY ADAM GILBERT
KOKOMO TRIBUNE
I
t’s 6 a.m., the sun is barely shining
and certified nursing assistant
(CNA) Ashley Cone has arrived for
her shift at Primrose Retirement
Community.
Mask on, mind ready – she starts
her day.
Working in the medical field has
been a dream of Cone’s for a long time
and driven by her own experiences
with family members.
“I first started out as a CNA
because I knew I wanted to go to
nursing school and I knew it would
be a good start at getting my feet
wet in the profession,” she said. “I
wanted to go into nursing ever since
both of my grandmas had passed
away because both of them have gone
unexpectedly with different health
concerns and the doctors don’t really
know what caused it.”
Cone’s journey began at the
Kokomo High School Career Center
when she was part of the CNA
program. The education didn’t stop
there though as she’s currently
enrolled in the nursing program
at IU Kokomo.
In May, she’ll have been working as
a CNA for two years. Over her time in
the field she has come to love being
able to work with the residents.
“When the families are
allowed here, without the virus, it
just a very nice [family] oriented,” she
said. “I love my coworkers, my nurses
that I work with; I work with different
nurses every day but I love them all.”
After arriving to Primrose she gets
residents ready for breakfast, which
starts around 7 a.m. She also helps
the midnight and day shift workers
get their people up, taking showers
and getting ready for breakfast.
There’s a lot to being a CNA that
Cone says people don’t know, and that
their job can be misconstrued.
“A lot of people think CNAs are the
butt-wipers, but we’re not just that.
We’re there for the families of resi-
dents … in the times they’re passing
away, we’re there when they’re having
birthdays and we’re there 365 days a
year 24/7,” she said.
“We’re there no matter what they
need, whether it’s just to get a drink of
water or in their time of need.”
One of the most important parts of
being a CNA for Cone is the peace of
mind she can provide to the families
when care for their loved ones can
become overwhelming. She said
it’s nice for families to come to a com-
munity like Primrose where they can
come and go as they wish and know
their loved ones are being taken care
of.
Cone acknowledged things
have changed and evolved during
the COVID-19 pandemic. While clean-
liness was always a top priority, it is
even more so now. She said precau-
tions are always being taken in the
name of health for both staff and resi-
dents. Masks are being worn at all
times like in hallways and residents’
apartments while also using lots of
hand sanitizer and washing every-
thing.
Cone noted one of the harder parts
of the current regulations emotionally
is the limiting of visitors.
“We’re limiting visitors even though
it’s really hard for our residents,
but right now we’re worried about the
safety of our residents first and hope-
fully after all this is over, we can have
something fun for our families and
residents,” she said.
When not under pandemic precau-
tions, one of Cone’s favorite things
about being a CNA at Primrose is the
happy hours put on for residents on
Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“I really like the happy hour aspects
because our residents get to come
and be with other residents and chat
and listen to music,” she said. “I like
interacting with them because they’re
having fun … you can really tell that
they’re enjoying themselves with all
the smiles that you see.”
While the happy hour gathering isn’t
happening at the moment due to social
distancing, carts are going around
to residents with drinks to still keep
some of the fun going.
It can be a struggle at times balanc-
ing being a student and CNA with
lots of responsibility, especially with
Cone’s classes being shifted online due
to COVID-19 closing campus. Even
with that going on, she’s excited to
continue her education and moving
further in the medical field.
“I’ll be excited when school goes
back to the classroom,” she said.
Until then, Cone will be continuing
to take care of those who need it each
day.
CARING FOR THE NEEDIEST
Certified nursing assistant’s work tough, rewarding
Photo by Tim Bath
Ashley Cone works as a CNA at Primrose Retirement Community of Kokomo.
