OSJCT home manager retires after more than 35 years' service
A Lincolnshire care home manager has retired after more than three decades looking after elderly people across the county.
Jacqui Luke, 67, has spent more than 35 years working in local homes run by The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT), including as Home Manager at Fosse House in Lincoln since 2012.
She has previously also run OSJCT homes Beckside, Boultham Park House, Hartsholme House, Ermine House and The Poplars and has worked on secondment at Digby Court and Foxby Court.
Ms Luke said: “I am proud to have cared for thousands of Lincolnshire people over the years and to have worked for a Trust with such strong values.”
Fosse House closed last month to make way for a new care home to be built on the site. This will feature 80 ensuite bedrooms designed around the changing needs of the elderly population. These rooms will be arranged in individual households each with its own lounge, dining area and quiet spaces with immediate access to a landscaped garden to ensure that outdoor space can be enjoyed all year round. Proposals for the new home also include a bistro, cinema, salon and spa.
Planning permission for the new home is due to be submitted in early summer, with a proposed opening date of mid-2022.
Ms Luke, who was given two retirement parties, added: “I will miss the residents and the team – for me they’re like family. I never wanted to be anything other than a home manager. I always wanted to work in a home ‑ that’s where I felt I belonged.”
Caroline Dunagan, OSJCT Assistant Operations Director for Lincolnshire, said Jacqui had made an incredible contribution to the work of the Trust in the county over the last 35 years and would be greatly missed by residents and colleagues alike.
She added: “I would like to thank Jacqui for her incredible commitment, compassion and the outstanding care she has delivered to so many people over the years. We all wish her a very long and happy retirement!”