Name
Mercedes Schirripa
Age
34
Company/Organization
Cass County Medical Care Facility
What Does Your Company/Organization Do?
We are a County owned Long-Term Care Nursing Facility. We have 80 beds and provide Long-Term Care, inpatient, and outpatient rehabilitation services.
Education
Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration with Ferris State University. Minor in Long Term Care and Facility Management.
Accomplishments
Besides my career being one of my biggest accomplishments I am also a mother to a wonderful little one year old boy, and a wife to my amazing husband Salvatore. I take great pride in my career and have worked extremely hard to become the Administrator I am today. I have spent the last 13 years working towards this goal. I remember the day I decided I wanted to be a Nursing Home Administrator. Some people told me I was crazy but I was determined and knew that this is what I wanted. I wanted to wake up with a purpose each day and know I was making a difference in the lives of others.
What else do you hope to accomplish by the age of 40?
Some things I hope to accomplish by the age of 40 is getting Cass County Medical Care Facility back to a 5 star facility. I would also like to increase community outreach as well as start offering new services to the community such Specialized Sub-Acute care, Assisted living, Independent living, and dementia care. From a personal aspect I would like to cruise into my 40’s being in the best shape of my life. After having my son I have found that taking time for myself, especially my health/fitness has been difficult and I want to overcome that.
Current City
Dowagiac
Place You Were Born
South Bend, Indiana
What was your first job?
I worked for a place called “The Purse Room” we traveled around and held “Purse Parties” in hosts’ homes. I was responsible for sending out invitations, getting inventory prepped and ready, traveling to our hosts’ homes, as well as the set up and tear down of each party. This job helped mold me into the person I am today. Some of my most important traits I gained from this specific job are how to be responsible, professional, accountable and kind.
What’s the best advice you ever got?
When things get hard you must get up, brush yourself off and continue on. Never give up, no matter how hard something is.
Who inspires you most?
My parent’s. They work so hard every day. I never understood how my dad instinctually knows how to fix ANYTHING. But I admire that about him. He has always been such a hard worker and provider for our family. My mom is very loving, kind and thoughtful. She always made time to be spontaneous with me as a child. Each week we would go somewhere and do something together whether it was the zoo, shopping, exploring a park, swimming in a creek or watching a movie. She always made our family her main priority and I admire that about her.
That one thing about you we’d be most surprised to learn.
I live on a farm. My family has a very large vegetable and flower garden, 5 cows, 9 egg laying chickens, 7 turkeys, and two dogs. I love every minute of the chaos and am excited for my husband and I to raise our son on the farm and let him experience life of living in the country with room to roam and play.
What do you love to do in your downtime?
I love to be outside in my garden, spending time with family, and cooking.
What book are you reading now?
Being an Administrator, mother, wife, and “farmer” does not leave much time for reading. Unless I am reading articles on gardening, caring for chickens, or anything related to gaining new knowledge related to Long-Term Care.
Volunteer activity you love the most.
Anything related to animals/wildlife or helping the elderly.
What motivates you to give back to your community?
Running a Medical Care Facility in the very town that I grew up in and graduated High School from is so bittersweet. It is such an honor for me and a full circle moment to be serving such an amazing community and know that I am making difference in so many lives. I hope that I am able to inspire our future leaders of Cass County. I want them to know that anything is possible and if you work hard enough you can achieve anything.
What Superpower would you most love to have?
If I could have one super power I would want it to be super speed. To be able to zip around super fast. Whether it’s getting everyday tasks or chores done faster, or zooming to and from the grocery store I think it would be fantastic to reduce all the wasted time driving or walking in between tasks.
What would you like to leave behind as your legacy once you are gone?
I hope I am remembered as being a wonderful mother, wife and always working so hard to achieve goals. I hope that I am able to leave my son with some of my traits he adopts as his own whether it be that he is hard working, motivated, loves to cook or a love for animals. Career wise I hope people are able to look back and think “Wow, she really made such a positive impact on my life and the lives of many”.
What does the honor of being named to the 40 Under 40 most mean to you?
Being nominated for the 40 under 40 is such an honor. To me it means that I am accomplishing exactly what I wanted to do and that is making a positive impact if not on just a single person, the lives of many. I was extremely emotional when I was notified of the nomination. Knowing that all of my hard work, studying, late nights, and dedication are paying off and are not going unnoticed truly means the world to me.
