SOULcial Salute January 2026
Hanna Mendez-Cuate, Resident Assistant, Havenwood of Richfield, Richfield MN
Experience Beyond Her Years
This is Hanna’s first job working in senior living. At age 19 that doesn’t sound surprising. But when I asked if she had ever worked with seniors before she said she helps her grandma one to three months each year. In Mexico. And she’s done that since she was 12 years old.
Driven To Serve Others
Hanna said she has always known that she wants to be in healthcare. She earned her phlebotomy license last year at a program in Edina, Minnesota but didn’t get work in the area right away. Then she was directed to senior living by a friend. In April she happily accepted an offer to join the care team at Havenwood of Richfield. She works both with those receiving assisted living services as well as those living in memory care.
Hanna is a pretty driven person. In 2023 she graduated early from Richfield High School by taking extra online courses. She did that so that she could start working sooner and help earn money for her mom and their household.
Outside of Hanna’s full-time work and extra shifts she operates her own floral arranging business in their home. She has customers all over the twin cities and beyond including Hopkins, St. Paul, St. Cloud and even orders from Mexico for folks in Minnesota. She credits her brothers in part for giving her the confidence to make a business of her design abilities.
Always Looking To Make A Difference
Regardless of where she applies herself Hanna is all about improving people’s lives around her. “Every day is new, and I love the work of making someone’s day better” she explained.
She said she likes to refer to her residents as lovely, beautiful and handsome. It comes easy to Hanna and said, “My mom taught me to always be kind and positive.”
Though the work of assisting with an individual’s activities of daily living is demanding Hanna sees the opportunity to connect with each and every person she cares for. “I like to treat my residents with respect and love. I want to create that feeling of family for them, so they feel genuinely at home.” Hanna added “I always like to do the little extra things that brighten someone’s day.” Hanna said with a smile.
Investing In Professionalism
In addition to training as a resident assistant Hanna also is trained to administer medication to residents.
Beyond always sharing some TLC as she interacts with residents Hanna earnestly invested herself in the “Heartfelt Connections” dementia training offered by LCS (Life Care Services), the company managing the community.
Hanna sees the value of the training and employs its techniques to good ends. In one case two residents in memory care became aggravated with one another. Not an unusual situation and one that occurred occasionally with these folks.
Hanna used her training to intervene. She said “I listened to each so that they felt heard. Then together with other staff we successfully redirected them towards a peaceful conclusion. The teamwork is what really makes it work.”
Going All In To Serve
“I always take an interest in what my residents are about.” Hanna explained how her residents enjoy how she is always going back and forth with fun banter. It makes them feel seen and appreciated.
“I am totally in for learning about anything to connect with my residents. I have now learned about football and motorcycles.” It appears the guys love it.
In addition, Hanna also takes time to read. Currently she is re-reading Martha Beck’s The Way of Integrity.
What The Future Holds
In wrapping up I asked what else she wants to do. Hanna replied, “I won’t always be full time in senior living, but I have discovered how much I love it and will always stay in it to some degree.”
She went on to add “My grandma came to visit recently and was a little jealous (kiddingly) to learn she is having to share my attention and TLC with anyone else.”