PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Jane Hanson, the new administrator at the Presque Isle Rehab and Nursing Center, is settling into the job and hoping to spread her passion for senior citizens.
A Rockland native and banking industry veteran, Hanson has been in the midst of transitioning to the elder care industry over the past year, a career change prompted in part by the experience of her late parents in their final years during the mid-2000s.
“That’s when I decided I wanted to get into nursing home administration because there were so many issues that drove me crazy,” Hanson said. Her parents both spent time in skilled nursing facilities downstate and had less-than-ideal experiences. In one instance, she said, she and her siblings physically carried her father out of one facility.
Hanson tried for years unsuccessfully to get a job in nursing home management, but could not find a facility to take her on without previous time in the field.
“I drove all over the state. I talked to all different nursing homes. Nobody was interested.”
In 2014, Hanson and her husband, who’s originally from Fort Fairfield, moved to The County and she took a management job at Aroostook Savings & Loan.
As a member of the Kiwanis Club, she became friends with Rose Marie Cyr, the long-time administrator of the Cyr family-owned Presque Isle Nursing and Rehab Center.
“I said, ‘Geez, you’ve got my dream job,’” Hanson recalled. “A couple of months later, she said she was retiring.”
Hanson then talked with Phil Cyr, administrator of the Caribou Rehab and Nursing Center and president of the company that owns both the Caribou and Presque Isle facilities, and soon started training under Rose Marie to be certified as a nursing home administrator.
Hanson started training last February and took over the job as administrator Jan. 3. The administrator certification required her to spend a minimum of 1,000 hours in training, including spending time working in all of the nursing home’s departments.
“The main reason I wanted to do it is because I love old people,” Hanson said. “My parents were the same age as most of my friends’ grandparents. I love to listen to old people and learn from them. I’m trying to show the [certified nursing aides] and the younger people here to listen and talk to them. You can learn local history and world history.”
Another asset and skill Hanson brought to the job was her experience with government regulations. While banking and healthcare are different, they are both highly-regulated.
Phil Cyr said he thinks Hanson is a natural leader who can inspire the front-line staff working in patient care.
“She’s passionate about the field. It’s not a job, it’s a career. She’s here on the weekends; she doesn’t have to be, but she is,” Cyr said.
