Right at Home Athens' Wanda Scott Started Her Healthcare Path at Age 5

'We had to pull together as a family': Watkinsville healthcare worker's journey began at age 5

From broken bones to providing aid for elderly family members, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a whole new set of challenges that made difficult situations even harder. Though the option of home healthcare did help ease things for some, having a non-family member around the house was an adjustment for many people.

Part of Wanda Scott’s job as branch director for Right at Home Athens involves matching people in need of help with the staff member best suited for their situation, and ensuring that the home healthcare service’s clients are comfortable and well taken care of. Not many people in Scott’s position can say their list of qualifications dates back to elementary school.

At the age of 5, Scott’s mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Though Scott was too young to understand exactly what was happening, she recognized that her mother’s physical appearance was changing. Scott also saw that her mother’s ability to do basic things for herself began to decrease significantly.

“I don’t remember what (the cancer treatment) was like, but I knew we had to pull together as a family,” said Scott. “(My brother) probably would’ve felt uncomfortable providing the personal support she needed, which is often the case for a lot of sons and their mothers. So I was the one that was able to do that for her.”

From then on, Scott doesn’t recall having any other job in which she didn’t provide some degree of related care. During her 15 years employed at the Chateau Elan Spa in Braselton, Scott enjoyed working with customers who came in with stories about how tired they were, and who expressed how much it meant to have someone show up to spend time with them. Continue Reading.