This month The Kensington spotlight shines on a very special person. She is defined as a true professional, hardworking but not overbearing. She maintains a calmness under pressure and is loved by all. When you meet her, you can feel an essence of comfort and ease simply by being near her. She has been described as both strong and gentle. She has a wonderful sense of humor. She has worked every care shift at The Kensington, always happy, always with a smile. This month’s spotlight is on Felyn Madkins, Lead Care Manager.
Felyn came to The Kensington in May of 2013 as an Assisted Living Care Manager. She was one of the first Care Managers to be promoted to Lead Care Manager in 2015.
When asked if she would switch her job with anyone else, Felyn said, “I love what I do, and I’m driven by my passion for it, and for that reason I wouldn’t want to switch my job with anyone”. Felyn stated that she enjoys working at The Kensington because she likes the team approach and support everyone gives and gets and that makes it feel like family. Her advice for new team members at The Kensington is, “Here at The Kensington, we thrive and then excel but we achieve this by not only caring for our residents but by also being respectful of them and one another”.
Some fun facts about Felyn: Prior to joining us at Kensington White Plains, Felyn worked as a retail store manager at Davids on 5th Avenue in NYC. She is from Zambia and she is the fifth of nine children. She has four brothers and four sisters. Felyn has six children herself. And, she loves being surrounded by family. She is fluent in four languages besides English. She loves to sing even though her children think she is horrible, but she says, “I sing anyway!”
Felyn is truly all about family, she loves going to the mall with her kids or shopping with her oldest daughter or just a lunch date with her siblings. Felyn describes to this writer how her children have always and continue to keep her inspired, “They’ve always inspired me to be the best mom I could possibly be. I have watched each one of them slowly set goals and achieve them”.
If Felyn was given the chance to be anyone for a day, she would choose to be Florence Nightingale. As Felyn stated, “The reason I picked her is she’s the mother of nursing and her selfless acts and devotion to humanity and health care are admirable”. Felyn’s favorite meal is breakfast. As she put it, “You’d never go wrong with some scrambled eggs, pancakes, breakfast sausage and a fruit salad!” If she was an animal, she would be a deer because they are a peaceful, kind and gentle animal. If you were to look at her phone for some music, you will find gospel music.
Felyn’s favorite quote is a quote by Dr. Cornel West – “You can’t lead the people if you don’t love the people. You can’t save the people if you don’t serve the people.” I asked Felyn why this quote, what makes it her favorite. Felyn simply stated, “If you look at the quote it starts with love”.
What makes Felyn happy? She emphatically stated, “When I’m doing anything that makes people happy, from being around my family to listening and sharing joyful stories with the residents here at The Kensington, that makes me happy.”
It’s no wonder she is a perfect example of The Kensington Promise, To Love And Care For Your Family As We Do Our Own!