Laverne Clark 2008 Great Lakes Regional CAREGiver of the Year
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"I was recently in a Bible class and our group was asked, 'Which of you would do your job for nothing?' I was one of only two people in the whole room who raised a hand. I just love being a CAREGiver." So said LaVerne Clark, the 2008 Great Lakes "Regional CAREGiver of the Year," about her work on behalf of senior clients in the Birmingham, MI, area.
Clark, whose office is owned by Tina and Tom Rowley, became a CAREGiver in 2002, soon after retiring from a 30-year career as a state caseworker. "My prior job used to involve doing home calls. Mostly it was with younger clients, but I sometimes dealt with seniors, as well. They always seemed to enjoy having me visit them," she said. "About a month into retirement, I decided I wanted to do something else. I saw an ad for Home Instead Senior Care in the local paper, and with my prior work experience, I decided to apply. It seemed like good fit."
Indeed it was. Six years later, Clark became an award-winning CAREGiver who says that her care recipients treat her "almost like family. For instance, when I'm working with new clients, it usually doesn't take long before they'll start telling me about their relatives. It gets to the point that when they mention other family members, I'll usually know who it is they're talking about and how they're related."
Not surprisingly, while Clark enjoys doing various things with clients such as visiting restaurants, museums, and stores, and going for walks, she says the best part of being a CAREGiver is forging strong relationships with the seniors whom she serves. "I like the interaction with them the best," she said. "They enjoy reminiscing, talking about the past. I especially like it when we go through photo albums; they'll tell me about places they've lived, vacations they've taken--things like that. I get to learn about their life experiences."
Her nomination essay simply says of her, "By her professionalism, presence, and attire, she exemplifies a model Home Instead Senior Care representative." Clark has also been recognized for intuiting what her clients need, almost without asking; in her words, "These things I just seem to know."
For instance, due to a stroke, one of Clark's former clients (now deceased) not only could no longer communicate effectively; she also couldn't get out to her beginner's knitting class. "So another lady in the office started coming in each week to teach some of us CAREGivers how to knit. After that, every day that I visited this client, she and I would knit," she said. "We got involved in a project to knit bears for adopted children overseas. But this client was so proud of her first bear that she actually decided to keep it for herself. For a stroke survivor, getting this first one done was quite an accomplishment."
As a result of the attentive, compassionate care Clark provided to this woman, one of the client's family members subsequently described this CAREGiver as "an answer to our prayers. I thank LaVerne Clark tremendously for helping make my mother's final years as comfortable and joyful as she did, and wish her the best and much happiness in her future endeavors."
Clark also is receptive to the prospect of taking on new assignments and learning additional skills. In fact, she says that a favorite aspect of her work is that "we get such good training--for instance, during our regular CAREGiver meetings."
Her "can-do" attitude resulted in Clark being the first CAREGiver in the office to volunteer for a pilot program designed to help senior patients return home safely and successfully after being discharged from a local hospital. When asked why she decided to participate, Clark simply said, "It was something different and it looked interesting. I also knew it would be a good way to meet new clients, and that I'd enjoy working with them."
Interestingly, her professional skills are also serving Clark well in her personal life, since she now occupies the role of family caregiver for her mother and uncle. "It's worked out great, since this responsibility shifted to me as I got more on-the-job experience working for Home Instead Senior Care," she said.
In fact, she believes that any family can derive significant benefits from enlisting the help of a professional Home Instead CAREGiver like her. In Clark's words, "It means a lot to family members when they can take a break from caregiving--to get a respite and close their eyes--and know that that there's a caring, capable person looking after their loved one. They can rest easy knowing that I'll be there."
In her estimation, what personal characteristics does she believe allow her to do her job at such a high level? Clark responded to this question by saying, "I think that working effectively with seniors involves being patient, caring, and compassionate. And you need to take time and listen to what they have to say. I do those things."
And now that she's been named a Regional CAREGiver of the Year--an accolade Clark likens to "winning the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes"--what are her professional plans for the future?
"I'll do this job for as long as I can," she said. "It's been such a good experience, and it still is a good experience. I think everyone should get a chance to be a Home Instead CAREGiver for just one day--especially younger people. When you're young, you don't think about what it's like to interact with seniors, and you don't think about getting older yourself. These are great things to know."