‘I would never guess she’s a new administrator’

Posted: 06/15/2022

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When Clara Palm took over last June as the administrator at the Good Samaritan Society – Comforcare in Austin, Minnesota, it didn’t take her long to make an impact on staff and its 45 residents.

“I knew, from the first day she worked with me, she was going to be the best thing that’s happened to this center and she has been,” Kevin Breault, Society ancillary services supervisor, says.

The location had been without an administrator in the building daily for 18 months during a pandemic.

“I really feel God brought her to our building. We went so long without a full-time administrator because God knew that we needed Clara,” Jenna Crooks, RN, director of nursing, says.

Clara’s two teammates say she’s constantly stepping up and stepping in to make sure residents get the highest quality care possible. Jenna remembers spotting Clara, early one morning, helping in the kitchen when the team was low on staff.

“She acted like it was nothing. Like it was a part of her job. That meant a lot to me,” Jenna says. “She scrubs bathroom floors. She scrubs toilets. She decorates Christmas trees. She participates in activities. Wherever we need her, she is there. You don’t have to ask her twice.”

‘Inspired by other administrators’

Clara, 23, didn’t just show up in Austin out of nowhere. Hailing from International Falls, Minnesota, she got her start as a certified nursing assistant at her local Good Samaritan Society at 16.