Meet Our Team

Libby Barrett

General Manager

What I do:
It’s a real privilege to be part of the Cinnamon Care Collection team and to be working alongside such a compassionate and caring group of people who have the desire to really make a difference in this world.
At Rivermede Court we are building a team who are passionate to deliver the very best service to you and your loved ones that offers respect, dignity, choice and independence.

My Experience:
I have been fortunate enough to have a most rewarding career in the care industry for over 38 years.
I qualified as both a nurse and a teacher and have worked at a home, regional and directorship level. My greatest enjoyment being developing relationships with others, seeing the results when we make a difference to others lives and building teams to commission new services.

About me:
I am very proud of my three adult children who are a huge part of my life.
I have always been interested in holistic health and general wellbeing and in my spare time I teach yoga and meditation. I am also training to become a hypnotherapist as I am fascinated about the effects of the positive mind.
I have a Pug called Bug and recently adopted an elephant in Thailand.

Becky Griffin

Business Administrator

What I do:
I have worked for Cinnamon Care since March 2020 and took over as Administrator at Rivermede Court permanently in July 2020. I come from a background in Administration, Customer Service and Office Management and am enjoying getting stuck into a new challenge at Rivermede Court. I really enjoy chatting to the residents and their families and they never fail to brighten my day. I really strive to go the extra mile for our residents and to help my team members.

About me:
I am married and my husband is a musician and Head of Performing Arts at a college. I have a 16 year old daughter who is incredibly creative and great at art. I enjoy music a great deal and usually attend a lot of gigs. I play the ‘cello, but am not very good. I did used to teach small children ‘cello and they didn’t seem to notice! I also enjoy embroidery and reading. I used to run a book club, but Covid-19 has put a dampener on that for the moment.
My main hobby for a long time was Roller Derby, I had to stop because the wear and tear on my knees was too much, but still enjoy casual skating.
I also have 2 cats named Arlo and William, a tortoise named Scout and a gecko named Poe. We have had a lot of reptiles as pets over the years, at one point I had 8 snakes.

Sandra Patricio

Homes Admissions Advisor

What I do:
I have been working as a Home Admission Advisor for Cinnamon Care Collection for just over a year.
At Rivermede Court I will be the Home Admission Advisor, this means it will be my privileged to be the first one connecting with you and your loves ones, supporting as much as I can in this overwhelming decision that is to choose the right home for the one you love.

My Experience:
I qualified as a Dietitian and I have worked in the care sector for just over 10 years in England and abroad.
I worked as a Dietitian in Portugal and in England I worked in the hospitality sector. Started in the hospitality team as a Hospitality assistant and develop my career to Divisional Hospitality Specialist after I finish the master’s in leadership and management having 42 care homes under my responsibility at the time.
Because I am very passionate about what I do I then developed my career towards sales and marketing, and I have been doing it for just about four years.

About me:
I recently became a mother of a lovely girl who is a bundle of joy in our lives.
When I have some spare time, I enjoy reading a good book, watching good movie or spending time with my family. Traveling is something we as a family love to do, we enjoy getting to know other cultures and countries.
Because I am very passionate about food, especially when it comes to babies and children, I like to spend time teaching new mums in how and when to introduce new food to them. In my research I realized there isn’t a lot of guidance out there for mums, so also in my spare time I am writing a book about it.

Louise Challand

Home Admissions Advisor

What I do:
I am delighted to have joined the Rivermede Court team as a Home Admission Advisor. My role is to support and guide prospective new residents and their families, in helping them to make the right care choices for their individual needs. On a personal level I am very aware of how emotional and daunting this decision can be both for the families and their loved ones. Having experienced this first hand with my late grandmother it was reassuring to know that her care needs were met in full, she adjusted well to her new home and that we as a family was well supported too. It was through this personal experience that my career path led me to the care industry three years ago.

My experience:
Throughout my working career of 34 years I have always had customer focused roles, either working within Customer Service, Sales support or Account Management. During this time I recognised the importance of building good working relationships, listening to customers needs and ensuring their expectations are met. In my previous care role I was a Move In Coordinator and I was in a fortunate position to support over 100 residents moving into their new home. I enjoyed getting to know the residents and supporting their families too and it was very rewarding to see how well they settled into their new surroundings and adjusting to the new chapter in their lives.

About me:
I’m married and have been living locally all my life. I love nothing more than to spend quality time with my family and friends sharing great food & company. I am passionate about food and particularly enjoy it more when its cooked for me !
When I get the opportunity I like to travel to new destinations exploring different cultures and cuisines. I have a keen interest in holistic health having qualified in both Reflexology and Reiki. I enjoy working in my garden and generally like spending as much time outdoors as possible, either going for walks, visiting places of interest or cycling when the weather permits.

Hanka Vlhova

Activity Co-Ordinator

What I Do:
I’m the Activity Co-Ordinator at Rivermede Court and my role is to compose activities and events for our residents that are inclusive, enjoyable and exciting. As well as organising events within the home I also like to arrange visits to local attractions and events. This helps to promote a social network for our residents. My role includes activity plans based on wellbeing, mental stimulation, physical well -being and of course the most important ingredient fun.

My Experience:
I am a qualified hairdresser, however for the past 20 years I have been working with children, starting as an au-pair all the way to teaching assistant and cub scout leader. I am a great believer in being part of the community and have helped out with organising events and fundraising in the local area.

About me:
I am family-oriented person. I love spending time with my two lovely children and my partner enjoying adventures, trips or just staying home playing board games – I love playing board games and I am up for any challenge! My hobbies are cooking, baking, any types of craft, gardening and scouting.

Daniela Lovin

Hospitality Supervisor

What I do:
I am very happy to have joined Cinnamon Care and it’s a real privilege to be working with such a professional team.
My main role is to support my team, so they provide the highest standard of housekeeping for our residents in the luxury environment of Rivermede Court.

My Experience:
I have had three years of experience in a housekeeping role and two years as Head of Housekeeping.
In December 2017, I was very proud when I was presented with an Employee of the Month Award. I worked long hours to ensure the home was kept pristine and our residents had a lovely environment to call home, in a period when we were low on staff, and I worked extra days to ensure that excellent hygiene standards were maintained.

About me:
I am the happiest when I am speaking with the residents and their families about their life stories, as they have so many interesting tales!
I love to cook, to clean my house, to spend time with my fiancé and we look forward to travelling together all around the world.

Dhivakar Sethuraj

Head Chef

What I do:
I am the Head chef at Rivermede Court, Egham. An ambitious and well-rounded chef with over 20 years of experience at noted establishments such as Hyatt, Centre Parcs, Carnival Cruise Lines, Taj hotels.

As a head chef at Rivermede Court, I am proud to lead my professional hospitality team in delivering the highest standards of food and service care for elderly residents at Rivermede Court. According to our resident’s personal preferences I prepare all the dishes presented in our menu with seasonal fresh ingredients.
Maintaining strong relationships with Rivermede Team is important to me and I understand the contribution that these relationships make to the successful running of a kitchen in a care home setting.

Bug Barrett

Top Dog

About me:
My name is Bug Barrett and I have the pleasure of being the top dog here at Rivermede Court. My birthday is the 04/05/2014, and I love nothing better than to have a lovely head massage or tickle from anyone who comes to the home. My favourite food is mature cheddar cheese, and I dislike lots of exercise. I have an older furry brother called Moose, a chocolate Labrador. Unlike me he is very active; I prefer to have a nice calm, relaxing environment to spend my days in so my place of work suits me down to the ground.

My Experience:
I have been a Pug since I was born and my Manager/Mum is Libby the General Manager, and I started work here at the same time as my Mum. I specialise in receiving head rubs, keeping Libbys feet warm when she is working and they tell me I snore – but I don’t believe a word of it!
As the top dog, I like to greet visitors to our home, and I am always a good boy. I have an excellent relationship with the residents here, and will say hello to them when they are in the lounge.
If you come to visit, please do pop into my office (which Libby shares with me) and say Hi.