When Executive Assistant Michéle Vanderkooi was 18, she was drawn to a career in mental health. As she prepares to retire and looks back at the last 30 years of her working life, 16 of which were with Providence Care, she says things feel like they have come full circle since then.

“When I was in high school, I actually wanted to become a developmental social worker. I changed my career route along the way, but now I figure I’ve come full circle from what I thought I wanted to do. I’m helping and providing support in mental health, just in a way I didn’t imagine at 18.”

Michéle is the executive assistant within Providence Care’s Community Services, supporting Vice President, Community Programs and Long-Term Care, Terry Landry among others.

“I’m a liaison and basically the face of community for everybody. I support Terry as the VP, the four regional directors, the nine program managers, the team managers, plus I work with our clinical director.”

With so many people relying on Michéle it takes organization, flexibility and hard work to stay successful.

“Every day is different in this role. You start your day thinking you’ll accomplish one thing but that one thing always changes. But I love that, because it’s never the same day twice. I enjoy the variety of work that we do in community and I’m so fortunate to support it.”

Michéle began her 16-year career at Providence Care in January 2008 as an administrative assistant with the Providence Care Foundation when it was in the final stages of merging with University Hospitals Kingston Foundation (UHKF).

In January 2009, she became the administrative assistant, supporting the Complex Continuing Care and Palliative Care portfolios at the former St. Mary’s of the Lake Hospital site, that later added in the Specialized Geriatrics programs and Rehabilitative Care. In October 2015, Michéle transitioned to an administrative assistant role to support Hospital Mental Health and assisted teams with the move to Providence Care Hospital in 2017.

“The move to Providence Care Hospital is such a good memory. It was a fun time because I got to go down to the units and help the teams pack and help get everything organized. There were a lot of moving pieces.”

In October 2019, Michéle became the executive assistant for the VP, Patient & Client Care portfolio. She was instrumental in supporting the Incident Management: Hospital Operations Committee through the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2021, she transitioned into the executive assistant role for the VP Community Programs and LTC portfolio (at Montreal St), going back to her passion of working within the mental health.

“I was missing client and patient connection, which I knew was available at Montreal Street. I’m still doing ministry work in this role, but I get the best of both worlds now.”

With retirement now in the forefront Michéle has her sights set on spending time in her garden and with family.

“My family is mostly down on Prince Edward Island so I’m excited to spend my time taking a few more trips there. My husband and I both like to garden, so I’m also looking forward to spending time in the veggie gardens and flower gardens.”

Michéle also hopes to spend more time traveling. She will officially celebrate the end of her working life with a bike trip across Portugal next year with her husband.

“I’ve always been drawn to Portugal. I love the pottery, the colours and I love traveling. We’ve been to Iceland, Australia, Germany and Holland. England is also on my list of destinations I hope to travel to as well.”

Michéle leaves big shoes behind and will be missed greatly by those who work closest with her.

“While I am happy that she is about to embark on another chapter of her life, her contribution as a member of the Community Programs leadership team and her presence at Montreal Street will truly be missed,” says Terry. “It has been a pleasure working with Michéle and I would like to thank her for her contributions over the years all while living the mission, vision and values of Providence Care.”

Congratulations on an outstanding career Michéle! May retirement bring rest, relaxation and more time for the things you love.

Michéle’s last day will be Friday, April 5.