Anu Narasimhan’s journey with Trellis began seven years ago, when she saw an ad asking for volunteers. Anu could not have imagined then how responding to it would change her life in such a meaningful and substantial way. Volunteering opened the door to further opportunities at Trellis and she’s been a valued staff member for five years.
When she saw that ad, the timing was ideal because Anu was dealing with a challenging caregiver situation with a family member. Out of a desire to re-focus her life, serve others, contribute to her community and learn more about caregiving, she volunteered during the Medicare open enrollment period in late 2015. Although she wasn’t familiar with Medicare, as a life-long learner, she was eager to learn and share that knowledge with others who could benefit.
Life is a gift
Anu became an administrative assistant on the Senior LinkAge Line® Volunteer and Outreach team at Trellis in 2017. The following year, she moved to the Senior LinkAge Line Preadmission Screening team, taking on the same role. She was recently promoted to assistant manager with the Preadmission Screening team after serving in the preadmission specialist and senior preadmission specialist roles. “Take the positive and go from there,” Anu says. “Positive” is a word Anu uses often. Her motto is “Life is a gift and an opportunity.” And she sees the opportunity of serving others as a Trellis staff member as a gift.
Regardless of her role, for Anu, it’s all about teamwork. Liz Hagstrom, her manager, says, “Throughout her 4+ years on the Preadmission team, Anu has been a strong peer leader. She has a deep understanding of protocol and always strives for the highest quality while ensuring collaboration on the team.” She says the next step in her journey with Trellis is ensuring her co-workers have what they need. “We have a good team,” she says. “We all support each other. I try to be the anchor that people can lean on.”
Support and communication are especially vital on the Preadmission team — the team’s main goal is to ensure appropriate nursing facility placement for clients. Screenings need to be processed within 24 hours of the day received. “We all need to pitch in and help each other,” she explains.
When she’s not working, Anu loves to read, spend time outdoors, garden, listen to music and be together with family and friends. Her first home is Mumbai, India, which she enjoyed visiting in December. “Being an Indian,” she says, “we have many festivals. We like to keep those traditions alive so we don’t miss them just because we’re not at home.” With their daughter in college, she and her husband are now empty nesters, giving her more time to consider volunteering again.
Being positive and making a difference
She hopes sharing her story encourages others to learn, contribute and find their unique purpose. “My experience at Trellis has been great,” she says. “I’ve had good support from co-workers.” She continues, “Life teaches you a lot. Take the positive and make a difference. That’s my outlook.” “I’m so grateful that I found Trellis. Then it found me. It allowed me to spread my wings and to believe in myself.”
