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The Cedars’ Sanvick enjoys the family atmosphere

 

The job of a nurse can sometimes be filled with stress, anxiety and even frustration.

Amber Sanvick, the director of Healthcare at the Cedars of Austin, may feel those emotions at times, but she embraces her career, which began when she started as a Registered Nurse in a long term care facility in 2008. Sanvick has been at the Cedars since 2014 and she has gotten to know many of the residents on a personal level.

“Some of them have been here as long as I have worked here. It becomes your second family,” Sanvick said. “I became a nurse to help people and I especially love working with the elderly and making their lives better.”

With 15 years of nursing under her belt, Sanvick has a good grasp on taking care of patients. It’s a balancing act that she’s learned to master.

“It’s a lot of collaborating with doctors at the clinic and setting people up with appointments, medications and therapy,” she said.

Sanvick also had the unfortunate experience of being a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw residents battle with isolation and fear of the unknown. COVID-19 regulations for most people have been gone for a while now, but it was only recently that long term care facilities were able to have visitors meet in the public area.

“Visitors were only able to come to their rooms and that impacted the residents immensely, but now we’re allowed to have visitors in our main area and we’re able to have activities again,” Sanvick said.

Sanvick has seen residents survive the ups and downs of the pandemics and she still loves going to work everyday. She recommends a career in nursing for anyone who has shown interest in it.

“It’s an absolutely fulfilling job,” Sanvick said. “You leave work knowing that you’ve bettered someone’s life.”