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.

Back in 1983, Jeanie was working as a Certified Nurse Assistant when she became particularly attached to a 91-year-old woman living in the nursing home where she worked. "She was always waiting for me and one morning she wasn't there," Jeanie said. "I went to her room and her bed was stripped. The doctor walked in and said, 'Jeanie, you knew this would happen some day,' I was hysterical."

During the interim, Jeanie had several successful careers, including managing a grocery store and a mobile home park. But there was always a void in her life until she began caregiving again. Jeanie, 56, has since lost several clients, including her beloved "doctor," her Home Instead Senior Care client of four years. But she's now turning her grief into a mission. "I know I was put on this earth to do this job. I go to bed feeling like I'm doing something worthwhile."

Jeanie is a model CAREGiver, attending all in-services, participating in company activities and even volunteering with her husband on their only day off at area nursing homes. In addition, her service has even inspired poetry writing.

"But it's the unquestionable love Jeanie has for her clients that makes the biggest impression on those she meets," says franchise owner April Cavanagh of Fresno, California. "Her clients, their families and even the franchise staff are the better for it." Added Fresno franchise office staff coordinator Abby Burnes: "In her five years at Home Instead Senior Care, many clients have entered Jeanie's heart. However, those with dementia touch her most. As a result, Jeanie was one of the first graduates of the Alzheimer's CAREGiver Training Program in her office. She also sought our other educational opportunities, including classes at the UCSF-Fresno Alzheimer's Research Center. Her training served her well with the late doctor, helping her handle his combativeness and enhancing his life. For instance, on one Election Day, Jeanie drove him to the polling place and helped him sign up to vote. Despite Alzheimer's disease, Jeanie made sure that her client could contribute to the election process," Abby said. "The doctor's two daughters were thrilled with successes like these and embraced Jeanie."

"Jeanie saw to it that Dad didn't sit in a chair all day, but went out in his yard where he always loved to see the oranges and the roses, and putter under her watchful eye," wrote one of the daughters of her late client. "Because Jeanie was so conscientious and regular in her work habits, my sister and I knew that Dad's care was never in jeopardy."