Patricia “Patty” White’s very good friend was sure of one thing: Patty would do well as a Home Instead® Caregiver at the award-winning Winchester franchise. Patty’s friend was right. Patty joined Home Instead in November 2021 and was honored as the office’s Caregiver of the Month in October 2022.
Patty’s friend knows what it takes to be an excellent Caregiver. Her friend, Margaret Cummings, was selected as Winchester’s Caregiver of the Month in July 2018 not long after saving the life of a client. “Margaret got me interested in Home Instead. I watched her come and go from shifts and learned a lot about Home Instead. Margaret is amazing. I also had watched how Home Instead treated Margaret, and I was impressed,” said Patty, who has excelled in her first position as a professional senior-care worker with an agency.
Patty served as a family caregiver and briefly as a private-duty caregiver before joining owner Keith Clay’s Home Instead franchise in Virginia. She also works for Keith’s franchise in Martinsburg, West Virginia. “I always enjoyed being around my grandparents and great-grandparents. My dad’s dad was my favorite. I enjoy being up on his mountain in West Virginia. I lived with grandma later in life. While I helped them, I never had to handle their personal care,” said Patty, a native of Grafton, West Virginia.
In 2013, one of Patty’s friends asked her to help with the care of her father, who had Alzheimer’s disease. “I helped him for about six months. It was surprising how his health and mental state went downhill so quickly. When I first began helping him, he could walk, talk and handle most of his own personal care,” Patty recalled. “Six months later, he could not do anything for himself. During the time when I was helping him, I was cleaning at my Bethel Lutheran Church and also ran my own cleaning service.”
Patty ended her cleaning service after COVID-19 came on the scene, but she still worked at Bethel Lutheran Church. “I’ve taken care of Bethel Lutheran Church since 2007, and that has been a big part of my life. I believe my time there helped prepare me for professional senior care,” Patty said.
Enter Patty’s Home Instead position.
“From the get-go, I have liked my job a lot. There are a lot of positives. Besides being fulfilling, this is the best-paying job I’ve had. I like the job because you can essentially make your own schedule. If you find that you don’t click with a client, you do not have to go back,” Patty explained. “As another plus, I get to meet a lot of different people and enjoy developing relationships.”
Patty added: “Communication is good with both offices, and both staffs are so good to me. Everybody is nice. The initial orientation and training were beneficial, and I was glad to get it. Before training was over, I already was on the job. The office knew what my experience was, and Margaret filled them in, too, I am sure.”
One year after starting with Home Instead, Patty has had several memorable experiences. Her quick thinking and easygoing manner kept an elusive dementia client from going out the door one day.
“I was advised to keep a close eye on her because she might try to leave. Sure enough, after I got there, she put her coat on and tried to leave. I asked why she wanted to leave, and she told me she had a task. I told her, ‘Oh, honey, you already did that. You don’t have to go out.’ My tone must have been reassuring because she sat back down. I still help her sometimes. With me, she is happy, laughing and smiling. If she gets up to leave during an overnight shift, an alarm goes off. When she hears it, she goes back to bed, but I always stay alert,” Patty said.
In another instance, a neighbor brought over homemade vegetable soup for one of Patty’s clients. “When I got up to get something else for her, she got out the chocolate milk, poured it over the soup and began to eat it before I could say anything. I thought for a second and watched as she was enjoying it, and I decided not to say anything. There was no harm,” Patty said.
There have been challenges, of course. One of Patty’s regular clients is bedfast and resides in a nursing home, where Patty is with her in the evenings on Mondays and Fridays. At first, the client did not want Patty.
“She was angry I was there and told me to leave. I told her that her daughter asked me to keep her company. I won her over by being helpful to her. As time went on, she liked having me,” Patty said. “I help her with personal care. I also sort things out in her room so there is no clutter, and she appreciates that. She has a sharp mind and is at the top of her game mentally. I’ve told her my stories. Our conversations put her at ease.”
On a recent Monday when Patty walked through the door to begin her shift, the client said, “Thank God you’re here. I didn’t think you were coming.” Patty replied, “I’ll never stop coming as long as I am able to.” While recalling the good feeling she felt from the client’s greeting, Patty told an observer, “That made me feel great. It is fulfilling to hear how much a client wants to see me and anticipates my arrival. That’s one of the big pluses of the job.”
Patty said she has found her home with Home Instead. “I feel proud to work for Home Instead. As long as they want me, I’ll never leave Home Instead,” Patty said.
All Home Instead Caregivers are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please apply online at www.homeinstead.com/247. For further information about Home Instead services, visit our website at www.homeinstead.com/247.
