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Those who work in public service typically do so without seeking a reward.

However, it’s certainly nice to be recognized.

Chelsea Roberts, who Boonesboro Trail Senior Living has employed since the spring of 2021, won the Outstanding Caregiver Award by the Kentucky Center for Assisted Living and was honored during the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities’ recent annual meeting.

“She’s definitely a leader. Chelsea will take the lead and get things done”, said Stephanie Brock, the director of health services for Boonesboro Trail Senior Living. “She’s very dependable [and] very dedicated to these residents. That’s why she is bettering herself.”

When she first joined Boonesboro Trail Senior Living, Roberts was employed as a Certified Resident Care Associate.

As time has passed, she’s advanced to the role of Certified Medication Assistant.

In these duties, she passes out medications to 30-40 residents, tending to each individual.

Roberts also engages in helping patients with ADLs, or activities of daily learning.

These are tasks that individuals find relevant to daily life, though there may be challenges because of aging, poor health, or other factors of an elderly population.

Activities of daily living include grooming, eating, and maintaining mobility.

“She’s responsible for basically just making sure that they’re happy,” Brock added. “We have a Memory Care Department, so she [also] works real closely with our dementia residents.”

When nominating Roberts, Brock described her colleague in several constructive ways.

“Resident care is her mission; healthcare to all is her passion. She is a true humanitarian”, Brock wrote. “The energy and enthusiasm with which she goes about her life are remarkable. Chelsea emulates warmth, humility, and compassion as she serves others and always expresses appreciation to others for their efforts.”

For Roberts, the drive toward success in health care didn’t begin, nor will it end as a Certified Medication Assistant.

Not only is Roberts undergoing phlebotomy training while she works as a full-time employee, but she is also studying toward an Associate of Science in Nursing degree.

Such performance and work ethic have earned high praise from her peers.

“Chelsea is known to all in the facility for her compassion and energy,” Brock added. “She is a very positive person of the team and exhibits ‘the why’ philosophy.”

On its official website, the Kentucky Center for Assisted Living states that the Outstanding Caregiver Award “recognizes front-line caregivers, support and office staff from any department for their contributions that lead to improve quality of life for the residents and create a better work environment for the assisted living community’s staff.”

While Roberts has more than earned this reward, others also make an impact.

“It’s so very rewarding to work with the senior population,” Brock said. “You’ve just got to be willing to commit and to serve.”