JIMAIMA Tamanisokula might have retired after a successful nursing career, yet to this day, she maintains her passion for serving others.
The 61-year-old from Rifle Range, Lautoka is the matron at Pearce Home in Suva.
She said living with residents of different beliefs and cultures was a challenge, but she loved to serve them all.
Ms Tamanisokula was born on the island of Lakeba in Lau.
“After completing my high school at Levuka Public School and St Joseph Secondary School, I joined Fiji School of Nursing,” she said.
“After graduating I served with the Ministry of Health for more than 30 years.”
Her last assignment while on retirement was at the Lautoka Hospital in 2018 where she retired as a matron administration.
“After retirement, I was retaken as a ward manager for another one year. I was at home last year when I saw an advertisement in The Fiji Times that Pearce Home in Suva required a matron.
“My husband encouraged me to apply for the position and I applied and got it.”
Ms Tamanisokula credits her husband for being the pillar of support throughout her professional career.
“He is very supportive.
“Even when I had to leave Lautoka and come and stay in the Pearce Home to look after the residents.”
Pearce Home is an aged care facility located on Butt Street in the capital’s central business district. It accomodates 10 residents, six women and four men.
“In the hospital, the focus was to deal with sicknesses that patients brought with them, but here its all about the integration of care.
“We look after the person, those who are on the last part of their journey. For residents, this is a home away from home.”
One of Ms Tamanisokula’s challenges was providing care for the ageing while going through the same ageing process herself.
“This is very challenging for me because I am also going through the aging process.
“While looking after myself, I have to make sure that the residents under my care are well taken care of.
“They have their own unique beliefs and cultures. I have to respect that and make sure they remain the person that they are.”
Ms Tamanisokula believes love should be centre of the family and families need to take care of each other, especially the most vulnerable among them.
“We all have differences but the most important element of family relationships is the love and care we have for each other.
“We need to realize that our elders are and will always be part of our family.
“The residents here also want to feel that they belong to their family. They also need the love from their family members.”
As Ms Tamanisokula continues to serve those under her care, she notices the change that is sweeping society and is concerned about how some people are now treating their senior citizens.
“Some people think their elders are not important for them while some take a lot of care of theirs, which is good.
“It is very important to make our elderlies feel they are very important in our lives. Our love and care mean a lot to them.”
