At McGregor Senior Living, the mornings begin quietly, the gentle rhythm of the campus feels like home. For Annie Jenks, that feeling is exactly why she’s here.
Annie serves as the Infection Control and Staff Development Nurse at McGregor, but her role is much more than tracking data and protocols. She keeps a careful eye on vaccines in the building, monitors residents who are under isolation precautions, and ensures the community follows current CDC guidance. Each year, she organizes in-services, bringing the nursing team together to review real-life situations, revisit protocols, and strengthen their response to whatever challenges may come.
But ask Annie what she really does, and she’ll tell you: ‘I help take care of people.’
Annie has been a licensed nurse since 2015. Her career began in hospice, where she learned how precious and fragile time can be. From there, she worked in a nursing home, then in hospital settings including rehab and trauma. Each experience sharpened her clinical skills. Yet, despite the fast pace and intensity of hospital life, she found herself drawn back to older adults.
“I feel most comfortable in this environment,” she says.
That comfort began long before nursing school. Annie grew up close to her grandparents. She spent time listening to their stories, absorbing their wisdom, and learning what respect truly means. Older adults, to her, represent a generation raised with deep values, hard work, resilience, and courtesy. That familiarity feels personal. It feels like home.
Before stepping into leadership at McGregor, Annie worked as a floor nurse in long-term care settings. She still carries that perspective with her every day. She walks through the skilled and long-term care units, stops in the dining room, and drops by activities. She talks with residents, not just about their medications or symptoms, but about their comments, concerns, and the small details that shape daily life. Even residents living with dementia, who may not always voice their needs directly, matter deeply to her. She believes in slowing down, communicating clearly, and paying attention to what isn’t said.
In 2022, Annie started as a Nurse Manager at McGregor and in 2024, added Preventionist to her title and responsibilities, overseeing staff development in addition to infection control. It’s a position that requires organization, vigilance, and collaboration. She coordinates nursing staff, tracks compliance, and works proactively to keep both residents and staff safe.
What she appreciates most is that leadership at McGregor works as a team. “All leadership is involved,” she explains. When residents need assistance and issues arises, we ask, “What’s best for the resident?” The goal is always improving, always learning.
That same mindset extends to staff. Annie has worked on both sides, direct care and management, so she understands the pressures aides and nurses face. Many aides at McGregor have been there for over 20 years. Longevity like that doesn’t happen by accident. Annie believes in promoting from within, giving nurses opportunities to grow so they never feel stuck. She focuses on supporting staff, when challenges arise, the team gathers, talks it through, and figures it out together.
“It’s a really good working environment,” she says simply.
For Annie, infection control isn’t just about policies or checklists. It’s about protecting people she genuinely cares about. It’s about ensuring that the residents, whom she calls “really great residents,” can gather for meals, attend activities and live with dignity and safety.
Every vaccine logged, every in-service taught, every careful conversation reflects something deeper: respect.
The same respect she learned at her grandparents’ kitchen table now guides her leadership in the halls of McGregor Senior Living. And in a community where many staff members stay for decades, where leadership stands united, and where residents remain the focus, Annie has found not just a workplace, but a calling.
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