Elizabeth Wastell, Gazette writer
Palisades Healthcare is proud to announce Lourdes Parker as the employee of the month for April. Parker is the chief facilities administrator at Palisades Healthcare. Originally from Lincoln Nebraska, Parker has been with the company for nine years first working in Rapid City, with the last six of those years spent at the Palisades location in Garrettson.
"I like the job because I always wanted to be in healthcare since I was a little girl," Parker shared. "And what I like about this place is the team that I work with. We've been together for a while, and the residents here, you know, some of them are here from Garretson, so taking care of them in their own hometown that really helps fill my heart. And we're like a big family here."
However, Parker acknowledged that the job does come with its fair share of challenges.
"The number one biggest challenge that I find in healthcare is finding the time to get everything done in an eight-hour shift," she said, noting that she sometimes has to take work home with her. The COVID-19 pandemic also presented significant challenges, particularly when it came to staffing.
In her free time, Parker enjoys activities like basketball, golfing, and traveling to the beach. "Golfing is my new thing. Last year, I got into it because one of the residents here kind of just gave us the paperwork and said, 'Here, we want you to do this.' My team was the same this year as it was last year. So, I got three of my coworkers to join me."
Parker also has a close-knit family, with a son who just turned 29 and other family members spread across Nebraska, Minnesota, and North Dakota.
Despite her busy life, Parker was surprised to be named employee of the month.
"I was super shocked,” Parker said. She said that she deliberately avoids entering any of the staff contests, prize drawings or any of the random employee benefits that come up, because as the boss she wants the staff to get the benefits first, not her. But despite that she was nominated and voted on as the employee of the month by the staff, so she was both very shocked and extremely grateful.
