Mary O’Sullivan hasn’t been working at Bridges® by EPOCH at Hingham long, but she’s already made a big impression on our residents. As a wellness nurse, Mary looks after their wellbeing, providing medication, health assessments and overall care.
But she says her favorite part of the job is interacting with residents. “They are really focused on the moment they are in,” she said. For Mary, it’s a good daily reminder to herself to take a breath and be more present in each moment. She also enjoys how seniors can connect on another level. “I really appreciate their generation—the way they interact, their different point of view,” she said.
Mary said the job has also helped her to have a better sense of how she comes across to other people. “[Working in a memory care community] helps you understand how you approach people. More than anything, [residents] read your body language,” she said. “If you’re smiling and open, they’ll respond to you. If you’re closed off and look aggravated, they won’t,” she said.
As someone who didn’t see her grandparents as often as she liked because they lived in another state, Mary said she ‘adopted’ a senior woman as a young child who lived in her neighborhood, even calling her grandma. “Thankfully she didn’t take it as being rude!” she said. As a child, she routinely assisted her mother in volunteering for Meals on Wheels and said she loved her experience meeting seniors in the community.
She was inspired to become a nurse by her next door neighbor and best friend’s mom, who was a nurse and her main role model. “She always had everything under control—a kid would get a fish hook stuck in his foot and nothing would ever faze her,” she said.
Mary attended the School of Nursing at Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School, as well as Labouré College in Milton in pursuit of her goal.
Prior to joining Bridges® by EPOCH, she worked as a nurse for five years, serving in a subacute unit in Milton as well as a long-term care community, where she also worked with residents with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Now at Bridges® by EPOCH, she appreciates the philosophy of care that focuses on and caters to each resident and their family members on an individual level.
Mary grew up on the south shore in Hanson with five siblings and said she loves to spend her free time going to concerts with her brothers. She also enjoys spending time in the outdoors, including hiking and spending time at the beach.
We’re happy to have her at Bridges® by EPOCH at Hingham, and so are our residents!