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Meet Our Outstanding CAREGivers

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A Tradition of Great Caregiving

At Home Instead Senior Care, we reward our local CAREGivers with CAREGiver of the Month and CAREGiver of the Year awards to show our appreciation for all they do. Home Instead, Inc. also recognizes regional CAREGivers of the Year and one special CAREGiver who shows exceptional dedication is the recipient of the national award — The Mary Steibel CAREGiverSM of the Year Award.

This program inspires CAREGivers to strive for excellence. It creates a sense of pride in the fact that the Home Instead Senior CareSM franchise network recognizes, appreciates and rewards their hard work, compassionate care and service to others.


Doreen Carbone

Our March CAREGiver of the month.

Sharon Kilmer

February CAREGiver of the Month

Harmony Jones

Perhaps the most precious client our company can ever have is a former CAREGiver. It doesn't happen often, thank goodness, but it does happen. When it does, we want to do everything in our power to make sure that our very special client is matched with the best possible CAREGiver for her needs. In the past few months, Harmony Jones has gone above and beyond on a regular basis for one of these very special clients. These two get along as if they have known each other forever, and they have become part of each other's extended families as well. Harmony, your care of and affection for your client has not gone unnoticed by those of us who knew her client "back when", and we appreciate everything you do, very much.


Jenny Heyden

We have known from the time Jenny worked with her first client nearly four years ago that she was a very special kind of CAREGiver. Every single client she has ever had without exception has raved about her. Asking Jenny to fill in here and there became impossible, because after having Jenny the clients only wanted her; they did not want their regular CAREGivers back.
We needed to know what it was that made Jenny so special. From the viewpoint of the office staff, she was a good, solid, reliable caregiver, very circumspect about her private life. Try as we might, we couldn’t pinpoint anything that made her an outstanding CAREGiver. We had to delve deeper, and it was in bits and pieces of conversations with clients and fellow CAREGivers, conducted over time, that a picture began to emerge, and suddenly it all made perfect sense.

Jenny Heyden envelopes her clients with a caring, considerate attitude. From the moment she enters their homes she is on. Every word spoken, every move she makes is for the benefit of her client. As a result, her clients feel well cared for, cherished and safe.

What Jenny does for her clients isn’t something that can be taught; it has to come from within. We wish we could bottle it, but since that is not possible we can at least recognize this exceptional CAREGiver by nominating her for this honor. She certainly deserves it, many times over! Congratualtions on being our 2010 CAREGiver of the YEAR Jenny!

Maureen Cole

Our December CAREGiver of the Month has made an impression on us because of her genuine commitment to her clients. From the moment she begins with a client she gives them her all. Our best example of this attitude of caring happened on Thanksgiving. When Maureen Cole's client was involved in an accident the day before Thanksgiving, and thus couldn't go out to dinner as they planned, Maureen took her own Thanksgiving meal and prepared it in thier home. The three of them enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving together. It takes a special person to do something so very generous, and that is just what Maureen is - a very special person and a terrific CAREGiver. Congratulations on being our final CAREGiver of the Month for this year and this decade!

Tina Cunnane

Congratulations to Tina Cunnane on being our November Caregiver of the Month. The day Tina walked in we knew two things: we had just added a first-rate caregiver to the roster, and we had comic relief as well. Tina has handled challenges that would have had many asking to be reassigned or, at the very least, reduced to tears, and she has done it with only occasional bouts of stress-induced lunacy, uh, I mean venting ;) . Only Tina could find humor in discovering a nest of baby rats in a box of precious family photographs while one of her clients is happily padding around wearing only a shirt and sneakers. I don’t know about Tina, but my ribs still hurt from laughing, and we all hope she continues the good work she does for her clients – and for us – for a long time to come!


Elaine Pridmore

Since joining us several months, ago, our October Caregiver of the Month has proven to be an exceptional employee.  She is reliable, flexible with her schedule, and well liked by all of her clients (and us!).  Even though she appears to be quiet and easygoing, she can be tenacious when digging in her heels on behalf of her clients.  She never stops thinking of ways to engage, entertain and stimulate her clients.  For these reasons and many more, we are happy to congratulate Elaine Pridmore on being our October Caregiver of the Month.

Margaret Mahadeo

We are pleased to annouce that for the second time in our 13 years as a franchise, our CAREGiver of the Year has also gone on to receive the honor as Regional CAREGiver of the Year. Margaret joined our staff in October 2007, and since that time, seldom does a day go by that we do not give thanks for having the great pleasure of working with her. As a live-in CAREGiver, it takes a very special type of person to weather the ups and downs of 24-hour care. Margaret is such a devoted, intuitive, and incredibly compassionate individual. We are honored to have Margaret on our staff as a Regionally recognized CAREGiver of the Year.

Meet the CAREGivers of the Year

Mei Newmann

Mei Newmann

CAREGiver of the Year 2011
Denver, Colorado

Mei Newmann loves her neighbor. Her motivation is nothing less than doing the best job she can for clients, watching their faces light up when she arrives and finding ways to enjoy their company. She’s also a lifelong learner who provides competent, compassionate care.
Read more on Home Instead Senior Care's corporate website

Lisa Barr Kazmierczak

Lisa Barr Kazmierczak

CAREGiver of the Year 2010
Wyomissing, Pennsylvania

Lisa Barr Kazmierczak saw eyelids flutter. Her client, who had vowed not to get out of bed that day, was curious. The client and CAREGiver had exchanged words that, had she believed them, would have broken Lisa's heart. Despite encouragement, the client refused to rise and shine. Lisa told her she would check again in 15 minutes, but the client told her not to bother.
Read more on Home Instead Senior Care's corporate Web site

Barbara Maxwell, CAREGiver of the Year 2009

Barbara Maxwell

CAREGiver of the Year 2009
Omaha, Nebraska

"I didn't want a job just for the sake of having a job. I wanted something I'd really love doing." So said Barbara Maxwell, West Region CAREGiver of the Year for 2009, about joining the Home Instead Senior Care Omaha Service Office in early 2006.
Read more on Home Instead Senior Care's corporate Web site

John Dutille, CAREGiver of the Year 2008

John Dutille

CAREGiver of the Year 2008
Wilmington, North Carolina

When asked why he decided to become a Home Instead CAREGiver, John Dutille of Wilmington, NC-the 2007 Mid-Atlantic Regional CAREGiver of the Year-said, "I've always done caregiving for friends and family members, so the job just fit me. Everything fell into place."
Read more on Home Instead Senior Care's corporate Web site

Gerry Rious, CAREGiver of the Year 2007

Gerry Rious

CAREGiver of the Year 2007
Lake Charles, Louisiana

"Whenever I enter my clients' homes, I remember to make them happy by going in with a smile. And I always say that you haven't lived a perfect day until you've done something for someone who can never repay you," said CAREGiver of the Year Gerry Rious. About being a Home Instead CAREGiver, she said, "I'm really drawn to this job. I just love it."
Read more on Home Instead Senior Care's corporate Web site

Alec Rogers, CAREGiver of the Year 2006

Alec Rogers

CAREGiver of the Year 2006
Northbrook, Illinois

Home Instead Senior Care Co-Founder Lori Hogan called CAREGiver of the Year Alec Rogers a "superstar - one who helps Home Instead Senior Care shine brilliantly by touching clients' lives each and every day."
Read more on Home Instead Senior Care's corporate Web site

Jeanie Avilez, CAREGiver of the Year 2005

Jeanie Avilez

CAREGiver of the Year 2005
Fresno, California

You don't have to talk long with Jeanie Avilez to realize that she's devoted to seniors. That's what makes her work resume a bit of a puzzle. There's a 16-year span of no service to the elderly between the time she left a nursing home job and when she joined Home Instead Senior Care.
Read more on Home Instead Senior Care's corporate Web site

Sandra Golden, CAREGiver of the Year 2004

Sandra Golden

CAREGiver of the Year 2004
Columbia, South Carolina

CAREGiver of the Year Sandra Golden has been shining since she joined the Home Instead Senior Care caregiving team in Columbia, South Carolina. Known as the "golden girl" by her clients, Sandra has brought happiness to many older adults who have come under her care.
Read more on Home Instead Senior Care's corporate Web site

Jane Travis, CAREGiver of the Year 2003

Jane Travis

CAREGiver of the Year 2003
Carmel, New York

When it comes to clients with physical illnesses or disabilities, CAREGiver of the Year Jane Travis truly understands. Jane, from the Carmel, New York franchise office, has lived with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for many years, but that hasn't stopped her. In fact, she's the first one to admit it's made her a better CAREGiver. "Going through MS makes me more understanding and compassionate for other people's illnesses," she said.
Read more on Home Instead Senior Care's corporate Web site

Helena Hickson, CAREGiver of the Year 2002

Helena Hickson

CAREGiver of the Year 2002
Savannah, Georgia

Helena Hickson of Savannah, Georgia came to Home Instead Senior Care with the highest qualifications. The third eldest of 12 children born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, to a carpenter and his homemaker wife, Helena had plenty of experience caring for her siblings.
Read more on Home Instead Senior Care's corporate Web site

Charles Ripley, CAREGiver of the Year 2001

Charles Ripley

CAREGiver of the Year 2001
Des Moines, Iowa

A good deed led Charles Ripley of Des Moines, Iowa to make caregiving a successful career long after he had retired from other jobs. "I became interested in caregiving when I took care of a friend with emphysema," Charles said. "I'd pick him up and take him to dinner and I'd drive him where he needed to go. When he couldn't take care of himself, I helped him find a nursing home."
Read more on Home Instead Senior Care's corporate Web site