Published: November 06, 2008 02:22 pm      

Thanksgiving Home gets new administrator

By MICHELLE MILLER
Staff Writer

Healthcare professional Laurie Blatt was recently appointed administrator of The Clara Welch Thanksgiving Home in Cooperstown. Blatt says she is very excited about the new opportunity.

``It’s wonderful,’’ she says. ``Really, it is a dream come true to me. It’s a wonderful organization and I am thrilled to be there.’’

Blatt, who has worked as a clinical systems coordinator at Bassett Healthcare for 26 years, says she really got to know what the home was all about when her mother-in-law, Rose Blatt, was a resident there.

``The home was unlike anything I have seen before,’’ says Blatt. ``It was a very vibrant living environment.’’

``The combination of the residents, who are so wonderful and the staff, who are so caring is what made me interested in the position,’’ she added. Blatt says she really enjoys her roll at Bassett, but says her new position will let her be more involved with residents and administrators.

Blatt will be succeeding Patricia Donnelley, who is retiring after serving 17 years as administrator at the home.

``I will be leaving the best job in the world,’ says Donnelley, of Cooperstown. ``Not a lot of people can say that.’’

Donnelley says administrators at the Thanksgiving Home are given a unique environment to work in because of its small size. She says being able to spend time with the elderly people has enriched her life.

``I have learned so much from them,’’ she says.

Donnelley says she has not made any big plans once she retires. She says she will stay in the area and hopes to have time for the things she has not had time for. Although the job is extremely enjoyable, it is also very demanding, says Donnelley.

Blatt is expected to start her duties at the home in January. Donnelley says she will be working through the month of March, which will provide a ``nice transition time’’ to be able to work together.

In a media release, President of the Board of Directors Jane Forbes Clark said the search committee was impressed by Blatt’s energy and compassion in addition to her solid clinical and administrative experience.

``Laurie is uniquely qualified to be our administrator, and we are confident she will be enthusiastically welcomed by the home’s residents and staff.’’

Blatt has served as an RN at the Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland Ohio and as head nurse at the Buffalo Children’s Hospital. Blatt holds a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Hartwick College and graduated from the Buffalo General Hospital School of Nursing with an RN certification.

She and her husband Fred, an artist, sculptor and teacher, reside in Fly Creek, and have three children, Alexandra Blatt of Boulder,Colo., Dr. Jaimie Bertino of Indianapolis, Ind., and Christopher Bertino of Oneonta.

The Clara Welch Thanksgiving Home, founded in 1928, is a 26-bed adult home licensed by the New York State Department of Health.