Leta Picco, December CAREGiver of the Month 2011 Congratulations, Leta, for being chosen our December CAREGiver of the month. Leta has been with Home Instead since June 2011; however, she has many years of care giving experience. Every client that has had the honor of having Leta as their CAREGiver falls in love with her sense of humor and hardworking spirit. Our staff coordinators love her flexibility and “can do” positive attitude. Thank you Leta for all you do for all of us at Home Instead!   Cynthia Womack, November CAREGiver of the Month 2011 Congratulations, Cindy, for being chosen our November 2011, CAREGiver™ of the Month! Although Cindy has only been with Home Instead Senior Care-Fort Smith for six short months, the ease with which she goes about her daily tasks with her clients makes it feel like she has been doing this forever.
Before Cindy came to Home Instead, she worked for many years in the financial services sector, and after that, worked as a teacher’s aide in a local private Christian school. She is also the mother of two wonderful children, one of which is in high school and the other in college. With little background in home care, she came to training and orientation with equal parts enthusiasm and anxiety. However, we all realized very quickly that she was a natural. The clients she works with all give her rave reviews and request her to come back time and again.
We are so pleased and honored to have Cindy on our team as a Home Instead CAREGiver™…congrats, Cindy!!!
 Corlis Woods, October CAREGiver of the Month 2011 Congratulations, Corlis, for being chosen our October CAREGiver of the Month...you have certainly earned it!
Corlis is no stranger to Home Instead Senior Care; she was one of the first CAREGivers hired when our Fort Smith office opened in March 2007. Her loyalty and dedication to her clients' is unmatched. Corlis recently finished working with one of our longer term clients by helping the family move the client to another state so the family could be closer to their loved one. She worked with this one client for over 6,000 service hours and over the last 3 years! To say the family and Home Instead was appreciative for the compassionate care she gave would be an understatement!
We all want to say "Thank You", Corlis, for your continued dedication to Home Instead, the clients you serve and the compassion you show to those in your life.  Stan Ostrander, September CAREGiver of the Month 2011 Congratulations, Stan, for being chosen as our September CAREGiver of the Month! Stan has been with Home Instead Senior Care for over 2 1/2 years and has touched the lives of countless Home Instead Clients.
Stan has quite a background. He has a degree in Psychology and worked in this capacity for many years. His educational background has really helped him relate to and bond with many of our Clients. He only thought he was retired when he came to work with us in March of 2009...he has worked with over 20 of our Home Instead Clients!
Stan's compassion for his client's and passion for the caregiving profession does not go unnoticed. He has even been know to give the clothes off his back to some of his Client's who couldn't afford to purchase new clothes. Thank you so much, Stan, and CONGRATULATIONS!
 Peggy Hill, August CAREGiver of the Month 2011 Way to go, Peggy! By unanimous decision, Peggy was chosen as our August 2011 CAREGiver of the Month. Peggy, a caregiver veteran with our Fort Smith office of Home Instead Senior Care, has been with us since February 2009...over two and a half years! During her time with Home Instead, she has logged over 3,600 hours with 32 unique clients.
The care and compassion she displays with her clients' does not go unnoticed. As an avid crafter she finds many ways to engage and stimulate the clients with whom she works. And the office CERTAINLY LOVES when she brings her baked goods to share!
Congratulations, Peggy! Job well done!  Gloria Harp, July CAREGiver of the Month 2011 Way to go, Gloria, our July 2011 Caregiver of the Month! Gloria started with Home Instead Senior Care-Fort Smith earlier this year and has already made her mark with clients AND office staff alike. She is always willing to help out when clients have short-notice needs. Not only does she show up to work with a smile, but Gloria is very proactive when it comes to finding out what will "delight" her clients.
If you see her out in the community, please tell her "Congratulations!"  Shelley Greenwood, June CAREGiver of the Month 2011 Congratulations to Shelley Greenwood, our June 2011 CAREGiver of the Month! Although she has only been with Home Instead for a little over 6 months, she has made a very noticeable impact in our client's lives. Her clients rave about her cheeful attitude and careful attention to detail. Many of the families she cares for insist on having her back everytime...which has made Shelley a very busy CAREGiver!
Thanks Shelley from all of us at Home Instead Senior Care!  Billie Campbell, May CAREGiver of the Month 2011 Congratulations to Billie Campbell! Billie joined Home Instead in February 2011. In only a few short months she has become an outstanding CAREGiver. She is loved by her clients and our office staff for her wonderful smile and "can do" attidute. She is always willing to help out in an emergency. Billie is also very devoted to her grandchildren and loves to teach crafts to five and six year old brownie troops. Thanks Billie for your wonderful work!  Ballie McCoy, April CAREGiver of the Month 2011 Exceptional job, Ballie! Ballie has been with Home Instead Senior Care-Fort Smith for over 3 years and has worked with a variety of seniors in their homes. Ballie has such a great attitude about the work she does; she understands the difference she makes in the lives of our clients and their families.
During a recent visit to our office for some additional training, she apologized because she thought she smelled like a deep fryer. We asked her why and she replied, "Well, I just left Ms. (client)'s home and I cooked her fried catfish, potatoes and green beans!" Needless to say, Ballie is very well-known for her culinary skills!
Ballie also has a wonderful skill and patience for her client's with dementia or Alzheimer's. She understands she must adapt to their reality instead of forcing them to adapt to hers.
Congratulations, Ballie!  Andrea West, February CAREGiver of the Month 2011 Congratulations to Andrea for being our February 2011 CAREGiver of the Month! Andrea, sister of one of our long-time CAREGivers, started with Home Instead Senior Care in June 2010. Extremely dependable and reliable, Andrea has captured the hearts of her clients' and their families'. In a recent comment from the daughter of one of her clients, she said, "Please don't take Andrea from us...she is absolutely wonderful and Mom LOVES her!"
Andrea is always willing to go the extra mile. She even had perfect attendance during the multiple snow/ice storms in February! When we thanked her for making the effort to get through the snow, she stated, "They need our help in this kind of weather more than ever!"
Thanks, Andrea!  Gayle Greb, January CAREGiver of the Month 2011 With her 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY just around the corner, Gayle Greb is a true embodiment of what a CAREGiver should be: caring, compassionate, dependable and always willing to go the extra mile! It rarely matters what time of the day you call Gayle to help with short-notice shifts--if she is not already working, she will help without hesitation.
In her tenure with Home Instead, she has tallied up almost 7,000 service hours! She is always trying to find ways to keep her clients active, i.e. making jewelry, cooking together and going shopping. During a recent visit to the Home Instead office, she told her supervisor the following, "Well, I better hit the road...Mr. (client) is waiting on me to make homemade cole slaw and potato salad before the end of the day!".
Thank you so much, Gayle, for your continued committment and loyalty to your clients and Home Instead Senior Care!  Kandy Luna, December CAREGiver of the Month 2010 Although Kandy is still fairly new with Home Instead Senior Care-Fort Smith, she has certainly made a huge impression with the office staff AND her clients! As Gloria Snider, our CAREGiver Educator puts it, "Kandy just radiates sincerity and warmth."
Kandy had never been a CAREGiver on a professional basis; however, the experience she did have involved taking care of her bedbound grandmother and helping her with her dialysis. So, with the additional training from the Home Instead Senior Care Training Program, Kandy was a natural CAREGiver. In her short time with Home Instead Senior Care, she has touched the lives of over a dozen clients...many of whom request her services in the future!
Way to go, Kandy! Yet another example of the extraordinary CAREGivers from Home Instead Senior Care.  Gloria Kidder, November CAREGiver of the Month 2010 Way to go, Gloria! Gloria has been chosen as our November CAREGiver of the Month...and she just celebrated her 3 year anniversary with the Fort Smith office of Home Instead Senior Care! It is obvious Gloria is loyal to Home Instead, but she has many other amazing qualities that make her an EXTRAORDINARY CAREGiver.
In her time with Home Instead Senior Care, she has touched the lives of 24 clients and has over 7,300 hours of client service! Gloria is always willing to come in early or stay late when a client needs extra help. She has stated many times that her position as a CAREGiver isn't just a job or paycheck to her; to Gloria, this is a fulfilling way to help senior adults stay safely and independently in their homes.
Great job, Gloria! It is hard to put into words the wonderful things you do for all of the families you've touched; all we can say is THANK YOU!  Stacy Whittaker, October CAREGiver of the Month 2010 Great job, Stacy! Stacy has been a CAREGiver with Home Instead Senior Care for almost 3 years and has just about seen and done it all. Her loyalty to Home Instead and dedication to our clients does not go unnoticed. She has an amazing ability to adapt her caregiving skills to meet the needs of all the various clients with whom she works. Stacy is always willing to help when short-notice needs pop up. It's no wonder why many clients call asking for Stacy specifically!  Ashley Simmons, September CAREGiver of the Month 2010 Way to go, Ashley! Although Ashley just started with Home Instead in June 2010, she has made a very noticeable impact in the life of her client. She was recently out escorting her client on some errands in Fort Smith and they decided to stop by the office. When our staff saw her client, they couldn't believe how great she looked! She had never expressed much interest in getting out of her house, but Ashley gave her a lot of encouragement and they never looked back. This is a great success story in CAREGiver/Client matching!  Mary Sherman, August CAREGiver of the Month 2010 Wow! What a fantastic CAREGiver! Mary started with Home Instead in January 2009 and we are very lucky to have her as a part of our team; Mary is truly what we look for in a CAREGiver. The goals we have for our CAREGivers are to Encourage, Assist and Stimulate our clients in a variety of ways. Mary has worked with the same client for over a year at a local nursing home's Alzheimer's Care unit where she has logged almost 2,200 hours to date! We have received numerous comments on how much Mary interacts with and engages her client, as well as assisting other residents when needed. Great job, Mary!  Sharon Brewster, July CAREGiver of the Month 2010 Sharon has worked for Home Instead Senior Care for just over a year. She is always available and has worked with twenty-seven different clients who have all loved her and wanted her to keep coming back. Sharon is a wonderful Christian lady, outgoing and always cheerful. After being retired for fifteen years, she decided she had more productive time ahead of her and the next day saw an ad in the paper. "I love what I do and just want to treat the people I work with how I would want to be treated if I was being cared for," Sharon says. "Home Instead is just incredible and I love the staff."  Barbara Lacey, June CAREGiver of the Month 2010 Barbara started working with Home Instead Senior Care in October of 2008. In that time she has worked with twenty-nine different clients of all different types. Even at seventy-eight, Barbara is always willing to go anywhere and do anything for those she cares for. Barbara says it is nice to have a perspective of what it will be like for her later and she really enjoys what she does. She also says she just wants to try and make things easier for those she cares for. | 