Meet the 16-year-old who has worked at a Halifax nursing home throughout the pandemic

Bronwyn O'Hearn is a 16-year-old whose winning smile and positive attitude is helping to brighten the lives of seniors at Saint Vincent's Nursing Home in Halifax. 

In return, she's gained a sense of independence and a newfound gratitude for all the things she has in her life.

O'Hearn works part time in the kitchen of the Windsor Street facility and has been there through most of the pandemic. 

"I serve food, I talk to residents, you know, I set up their plates. I really like my job here," she said. "It's very relaxed. But, you know, I also get to have some fun with the residents."

She's the second youngest staff member at the west-end care home and one of four teenagers on staff. 

O'Hearn's parents were concerned for her health when the pandemic started, so they kept her away from her new job for a month. But she soon realized the facility was "the safest place to be" and returned to work.

Being back on the job provided O'Hearn with the social interaction she craved.

"I definitely found it very nice to be out of isolation for everybody because I definitely thrive off of being around people," she said.

O'Hearn said continuing to work at Saint Vincent's has been rewarding, but the pandemic means she's had to make sacrifices for the safety of the residents she serves.

When her friends were having a good time hanging out during the warmer months, she didn't join them for fear of putting the lives of the residents in jeopardy should she be exposed to COVID-19.

She said the facility is a "vulnerable place" and it would have been selfish of her to take the risk. 

A circumspect O'Hearn said the experience helped her figure out who her real friends are.

"It gave me a sense of who am I really going to be friends with through all of this," she said.

O'Hearn said she also opted to walk to work 30 minutes one-way, rather than risk being exposed to COVID-19 on public transit. 

But in having to isolate from some of her friends, the Grade 10 student said she has also developed friendships with 80-year-olds at Saint Vincent's — which she admits was "not common" for a teen.

She said the job has also given her a purpose and a routine, noting that when schools were closed during the pandemic and many of her schoolmates were up until 3 a.m., she was going to bed at 10 p.m. so she could go to work the next day. 

"It gave me a sense of pride, you know, showing up in scrubs and walking to work and, you know, being one of the front-line health workers at 15. I really loved that," said O'Hearn, who celebrated her 16th birthday a couple of months ago.

This also means that she is one of the youngest people in the province to get both vaccine shots. 

O'Hearn said she's not afraid of the vaccine and isn't worried about conspiracy theories around it — but she is afraid of needles. Not enough to stop her from getting the shots, though.

"I'm taking the right precautions to keep myself and others safe, which working in such a vulnerable place, I think it's selfish not to."

O'Hearn said she feels lucky working at Saint Vincent's and said her experience there has made her realize that she wants to work in a field helping people.

She recalled how working on Christmas Day made her realize the impact she could have on the lives of others and how it changed her perception of her own life.

"You could just feel the sadness, and being in there, I felt like I was doing something — to talk to them, make them feel a little bit better," she said. 

" And it made me feel better going home to my own family, opening presents and realizing how grateful I really should be for what I have."

MORE TOP STORIES