By MICHELLE MILLER
Staff Writer
Healthcare professional Laurie
Blatt was recently appointed
administrator of The Clara Welch
Thanksgiving Home in Cooperstown.
Blatt says she is very excited
about the new opportunity.
``It’s wonderful,’’ she says. ``Really,
it is a dream come true to
me. It’s a wonderful organization
and I am thrilled to be there.’’
Blatt, who has worked as a
clinical systems coordinator at
Bassett Healthcare for 26 years,
says she really got to know what
the home was all about when her
mother-in-law, Rose Blatt, was a
resident
there.
``The
home was
unlike anything
I
have seen
before,’’
says Blatt.
``It was a
very vibrant
living
environment.’’
``The combination of the residents,
who are so wonderful and
the staff, who are so caring is
what made me interested in the
position,’’ she added.
Blatt says she really enjoys
her roll at
Bassett, but
says her
new position
will let
her be more
involved
with residents
and
administrators.
Blatt
will be succeeding Patricia Donnelley,
who is retiring after serving
17 years as administrator at
the home.
``I will be leaving the best job
in the world,’ says Donnelley, of
Cooperstown. ``Not a lot of people
can say that.’’
Donnelley says administrators
at the Thanksgiving Home are
given a unique environment to
work in because of its small size.
She says being able to spend time
with the elderly people has enriched
her life.
``I have learned so much from
them,’’ she says.
Donnelley says she has not
made any big plans once she retires.
She says she will stay in the
area and hopes to have time for
the things she has not had time
for. Although the job is extremely
enjoyable, it is also very demanding,
says Donnelley.
Blatt is expected to start
her duties at the home in
January. Donnelley says
she will be working through
the month of March, which
will provide a ``nice transition
time’’ to be able to work
together.
In a media release, President
of the Board of Directors
Jane Forbes Clark said
the search committee was
impressed by Blatt’s energy
and compassion in addition
to her solid clinical and administrative
experience.
``Laurie is uniquely qualified
to be our administrator,
and we are confident
she will be enthusiastically
welcomed by the home’s
residents and staff.’’
Blatt has served as an
RN at the Rainbow Babies
and Children’s Hospital in
Cleveland Ohio and as head
nurse at the Buffalo Children’s
Hospital. Blatt holds
a Bachelor of Science degree
in nursing from Hartwick
College and graduated
from the Buffalo General
Hospital School of Nursing
with an RN certification.
She and her husband
Fred, an artist, sculptor
and teacher, reside in Fly
Creek, and have three children,
Alexandra Blatt of
Boulder,Colo., Dr. Jaimie
Bertino of Indianapolis,
Ind., and Christopher Bertino
of Oneonta.
The Clara Welch
Thanksgiving Home, founded
in 1928, is a 26-bed adult
home licensed by the New
York State Department of
Health.
inactive
November 6, 2008
Thanksgiving Home gets new administrator
- inactive
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