The Westview News

Press Release
Employee of the Month
Date
February 25, 2025

      Larda Yottivong was awarded with the January 2025 Employee of the Month honors for Westview. Larda performs her duties as a Server in the Dietary Department of Country Living at Westview Commons. She performs many important responsibilities to ensure the elegance and efficiency of meal service at the Dayville, CT Independent and Assisted Living Facility. Larda and the serving team prepare the hospitable atmosphere in Westview Commons’ Great Room by setting and resetting the room for dining hours; making additional arrangements throughout the day for special celebrations or occasions. By maintaining clear communication with the chefs and kitchen staff, Larda is sure to have a working knowledge of the daily menus and all of the available considerations for nutritional needs. During breakfast, lunch, and dinner, she provides an essential connection between the dining guests and our cuisine creators. Larda’s convivial stewardship for each guest ensures that dishes are designed and delivered according to individual needs and requests. Moreover: the relationships that Larda forms with the residents, their family members, and all guests extends beyond culinary camaraderie.

     Prior to working with Country Living at Westview Commons, Larda gained experience working as a server in the dietary department of another residential facility. A strong sense of family binds Larda’s family together. Her mother and step-father are the owners of “Emerald Buddha Thai Hot Pot & African Cuisine,” a restaurant in Danielson, CT where Larda has worked alongside her older sister. Larda’s innate human compassion, family values, and employment experience are an asset in accommodating the catered independent and assisted living at Westview Commons. She started working at Westview Commons in June 2024, and quickly garnered her colleagues’ appreciation as this Employee of the Month recognition signals. The feeling is mutual for Larda: “It’s been great from the day I started here! We have a really strong team, and they always help me to work on any skills that I need to develop.” With keen awareness of the general pleasantries and sharp professionalism that is anticipated during mealtimes, she has established meaningful connections among both residents and staff.

     Some of Larda’s preferred pastimes include reading, walking, kayaking, and yoga. She looks to turn pages in her favorite mystery and crime-solving novels whenever the moment presents. The Mansfield Hollow Dam and the area around Storrs, CT are some of her favorite places to explore on walks. Finding natural settings to be endlessly interesting, she is beginning to kayak on local, calm waters and she savors the serenity of those moments.

     Academically astute, Larda graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University with a Bachelors Degree in Psychological Sciences; concentrating in Developmental Psychology. She is confident in the pluralistic potential of her education, and sees how it can overlap into a lot of different vocations. At current Larda delights in looking, listening, and learning from a wide range of professional experiences to stimulate her knowledge and abilities. She applies much of what she has studied to her approach at Westview Commons. “I am full of gratitude in receiving this award! It feels amazing to work for an employer who notices and acknowledges our hard work.” Larda detailed her motivation in all of her pursuits by saying “Kindness and compassion have always been my priorities, and I am happy to see it has an impact. Thank you to Westview and those who advocated for me to attain this achievement.”

     David T. Panteleakos, CEO & Executive Vice President of Westview Commons, values the dining experience and the welcoming feeling of The Great Room as one of the facility’s central elements—literally and figuratively. “Whenever I walk into Westview Commons and look into our Great Room, I am overjoyed to witness the interactions between our community members and our staff in the Dietary Department,” Mr. Panteleakos commented. “I know that Larda and our team work to make the guest experience as comfortable and considered as if it were their own home, with dishes designed and service set to the standard of a fine restaurant. It warms hearts throughout the community at Westview Commons to know that space is abundant with delicious food and cherished friends. Congratulations to Larda!”

Westview Health Care Center is a 103-bed inpatient skilled nursing facility, which includes a distinct and self-contained 28-bed sub-acute short term rehabilitation unit and outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapies including: Sports Medicine, Adolescent/Pediatric, Adult, and Aquatic Outpatient Centers, all dedicated to providing outstanding quality health care services. The Dayville, Connecticut facility is consistently ranked among the top nursing facilities in the nation, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as well as U.S. News and World Report, consecutively for the past years.