by Michael Erskine
LITTLE CURRENT—Carol Marcoux, the new director of care at Manitoulin Centennial Manor, may be originally from Sudbury where she began her nursing career 32 years ago, but Manitoulin held a special place in her heart.
“I started my nursing career 32 years ago,” she confirmed, “so I was in Sudbury, then Texas, and from Texas to Ottawa where I lived for 27 years and then back to Sudbury for a few years, and then I did a stint in Ottawa went back to Sudbury and went on to Kirkland Lake—and now, I’m here. I want this to be where I stay to finish off my career.
Ms. Marcoux and her husband have moved to Little Current with their dog Apollo. She has one daughter in Ottawa, another daughter in Sudbury and a son in North Bay. Some serious Northern roots.
She started her career at Cambridge College’s nursing program—but, of course, she has been involved in lifelong learning as well.
“To ask me where I haven’t worked would probably be easier,” she laughs, noting her career has involved “a little bit of everything.”
“I started off in neo-natal intensive care,” she said, “but I’ve done oncology, I was a manager in home and community care (like VON), where I grew as a care coordinator. I was an oncology nurse for four years. I did staff relief, and they would send me to emerg step down units.”
“Over the last 17 years I have been in operational management,” she said.
As to what drew her to becoming a director of care in a long-term care home, “I think I’ve come full circle in my career, so I started off with premature babies, and it’s, it’s just, I love seniors, I really do, and I want the best care for our seniors, and I think coming into this, I naturally, gradually just found myself.”
Ms. Marcoux said that she understands deeply that the Manor is not a “facility or institution.”
“We’re coming into their home,” she said. “People have to understand this is their home, so we have to make sure that they’re getting the best care. And it’s about accountability. I’m accountable for all the residents here, so whatever our account is, I’m accountable to ensure that they are getting that quality care that they deserve. Thinking you are in their home, so, how would you want to be treated in your own home?”
