New career allows opportunity to advocate for others

When Lawrence Ferguson was young, his family relocated to Kansas in search of a better quality of life.

“You don’t have to be a millionaire to live in Kansas,” Lawrence said. “It’s one of the reasons my mom brought me here in high school - the expense and the crime, and all the junk going on in California.”

Now he has the chance to advocate for a better life for others in his work as social services designee at Clay Center Presbyterian Manor.

“I’m the advocate for the seniors here, so I work closely with seniors and families,” he said. “I advocate for them in care plan meetings. There are so many hats I wear, hard to quantify. I’m a case manager of sorts and I work to ensure residents rights are protected.”

Lawrence began in this role just a few months ago, but he has previous experience as a case manager in the mental health field. So even though his degree is in business management, his education has translated well into managing the wellbeing of residents.

“I have a lot of practical work experience,” Lawrence said. “I get to touch all parts of the residents’ lives - and serve as liaison between families, between us, and get to be the voice of the residents.”

In developing care plans for residents, Lawrence said he enjoys interacting with the leadership team, and with other departments, to make sure everyone is on the same page and oriented towards the best care possible.

When he’s not working on behalf of residents, Lawrence describes himself as a “huge nerd.”

“I like a lot of science fiction and fantasy. Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel, Lord of the Rings, and all things 80s because I grew up in the 80s,” Lawrence said. “I have two kids, and two children in middle school. My girlfriend and I like to take road trips when we have free time.”

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