Jacque Woodward enjoys working with the rest of the Barren River Adult Day Care Center staff on hands-on activities for clients.
“I’m not going to expect anyone to do anything I won’t do,” she said. “We’re a team here, so I need to have an understanding of what they do with clients.”
When the clients enjoy an activity, it makes the Auburn native happy. As director of the center, she works with the clients, families and staff to see what type of therapeutic engagement can be offered to help clients, who have mental and/or physical challenges. She also supervises the staff and develops the center budget. She has worked at the center since October 2008.
“This isn’t a place where people come and sit. We work constantly to create new engagement opportunities to stimulate them,” she said. “It’s amazing. When you look at things from the aspect of the client and think how can we make things happen and how to put it in place, the least little things can make a difference.”
Her dedication to the staff and clients helped her earn the Barren River Agency on Aging’s “Outstanding Adult Day Care Staff of the Year” award for the 10-county service region. She received the award May 11 at the annual Barren River Area Development District meeting.
“I was stunned,” she said of her reaction to the award. “There are other people who deserve this.”
Woodward has been in the business of helping others for a long time. It started at home.
“Our family was close-knit, and that included extended family. We were always helping to care for other people,” she said. “You helped anyone you could. It was easy to realize that social work was what I wanted in life.”
She went to college to pursue her degree right out of high school and started working for the state. For 30 years, she worked for the commonwealth. The last 20 were spent as a supervisor with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. During that time, she took a break from her schooling before returning as a nontraditional student years later and completing her bachelor’s degree in social work at Western Kentucky University.
Once she retired from the cabinet, Woodward began to contemplate a career in health care, believing it would be a good match with her knowledge of Medicaid. She started working as a social worker at the Cal Turner Extended Care Pavilion in Scottsville in 2007.
“I never dreamed the director position (at the Adult Day Care Center) would open,” she said.
Now she works with 71 clients ages 21 and up and helps them enhance their quality of life. Clients – who come from various parts of southcentral Kentucky – do a variety of activities, including cookouts, horse carriage rides and a Kentucky Derby party. The center is open weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
“One misconception is that we just serve the senior population,” she said.
Woodward said she looks forward to having a long career with Commonwealth Health Corp., parent company of the center.
“It’s a great place to work with wonderful people,” she said. “The staff couldn’t be any better. I like seeing the success of the clients.”
