CAREGiver Recognition

​Dawn has been a part of our Home Instead family for almost ten years. In that time she has worked with well over three dozen clients. There is not one client she has worked with who did not realize what a gem she was right from the start. A current client of ours, Leona, is battling cancer and lives alone. Although she has family who visit, she does not want to burden them with her needs as she has always been very independent – and a little stubborn, according to family. Although she enjoys company, she was not very open to the idea of having CAREGivers. It was clear at the CAREGiver introduction that she would be ok with Dawn. Dawn thoughtfully asked about her expectations and preferences and assured her she would respect any limitations set. Being one of the most detail-oriented people we know, Dawn communicated a list of daily tasks to the office after her first shift based on her discussion with the client. While showering, medication reminders, and cleaning were initially what these shifts were all about it has quickly evolved into so much more. They enjoy conversations about everything from Leona’s amazing artwork, to religion, family, and so much more. A three-hour game of scrabble is not unheard of although the office is never privy to who wins! Dawn has helped Leona organize her self-proclaimed “clutter” and is always ready to take on a new project, although at times Leona prefers to just enjoy her company or watch a television show with her. Since Dawn works with her three mornings and five evenings a week, there is always time to fit this all in. Dawn’s consistency, professionalism and kind heart are all part of what Leona treasures, just as we in the office do. When told, secretly, of course, that Dawn was being nominated as CAREGiver of the Year, Leona had this to say: “I am so glad you are nominating Dawn. In this day and age, it is rare to find someone like Dawn who takes her work seriously, never overlooks details and still makes time to make you feel special. She’s everything!” By the way, Leona confided that the Scrabble matches are at a tie!

Dawn’s previously mentioned attention to detail has been a valuable resource to our office. During COVID-19, with part of our staff working remotely, Dawn was a huge help. She not only accepted any new clients she could fit in her schedule, she also willingly took on the first shift with multiple clients in order to compile a complete set of shift instructions to share with all assigned CAREGivers. An example of instructions sent after one such visit included everything on how the client likes her food cooked, safety observations Dawn made during first visit, in-depth details of all tasks such as “set washer to bulky setting for towels,” “basement light switch is on the first floor hall next to kitchen light switch, be careful on stairs,” and so on. This client was so impressed with Dawn’s thoroughness and was comforted that every CAREGiver would be given this information. Although Dawn took this on as a one-time shift to help out the office, hearing how happy this client was and that she hoped to have Dawn back again, Dawn quickly agreed to keep a couple of shifts on a regular basis. It is not surprising how many times we have received inquiries from neighbors of clients asking if Dawn is available to work with them also.

Although Dawn always exemplifies what we want in a Home Instead CAREGiver, it is her work with end of life clients that stands out the most. She has worked with many clients who were also receiving care from Hospice. On each of these shifts Dawn has continuously demonstrated her strong leadership skills by reporting changes to the office, communicating regularly with the hospice nurse and family members and ensuring medication documentation was filled out completely and accurately. More importantly she has connected with each of these clients in such a way that they knew that even if family wasn’t near, they had someone with them who truly cared and would be with them until the end of their journey. One such client, Aimee, started services with Home Instead in 2012 and was fortunate to have Dawn on her team almost from the get-go. Initially, Dawn would take Aimee grocery shopping and to appointments and help around her home, but by 2015 as Aimee’s health conditions worsened, her physical needs in the home became a priority and she was placed on Hospice. As Aimee’s needs increased, Dawn expanded her skills so as to be able to continue to provide Aimee with the care she needed. She grew and learned as Aimee needed her to, and with the anxiety that Aimee experienced, she found Dawn’s presence to be calming and reassuring. Dawn went out of her way to introduce any new CAREGivers to Aimee, and took on more shifts as Aimee’s condition worsened. Through Aimee’s last days, she held Dawn’s hand so tight that Dawn was unable to get up and answer the door when the bell rang. Knowing that Aimee had come to love her, Dawn was insistent on being there with her at the end. She left her phone number for the other CAREGivers, asking them to call if Aimee took a turn for the worse during their shift. She received such a call and rushed to Aimee’s to be with her, at her side holding her hand, as she passed. We know it is Dawn whom Aimee would have wanted by her side at that time.

As if all the above does not demonstrate how truly amazing Dawn is, there is more! We recently accepted a client who lived in an assisted living facility and upon being discharged to home from rehab, needed care 24/7. The facility she was in required that all CAREGivers coming into the facility had a negative COVID-19 test within the past two weeks. As she was a 24/7 client, we had multiple CAREGivers tested and assigned to shifts. Unfortunately, many of the CAREGivers assigned requested to be taken off the shifts once the client’s anger and hostility, possibly brought on by her dementia, became clear. She pinched, spit at, and called CAREGivers nasty names. As CAREGivers came off shifts it was not easy replacing them due to the COVID-19 testing requirements. Dawn stepped up to the plate once again by taking shifts when available and going in the early morning hours to fill gaps between shifts prior to heading to her regularly scheduled shifts. Not once, when hearing our plea for help, did Dawn complain or turn us down. It would not have been possible to keep these shifts up and running without Dawn.

If it were possible to clone a CAREGiver, we would have an abundance of Dawns, enough to go around to everyone in need of an angel.

​Our CAREGiver of the Month is Maureen B.! We’ve acknowledged Maureen before, but she is honestly one of those CAREGivers that you could honor every month. In her almost 6 years with Home Instead, she has worked with clients 5-6 days per week, every week – except the solid year in which she worked 7 days a week, filling in so that her clients didn’t have to have a new CAREGiver when others needed time off. For several weeks during the height of the COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order this spring, Maureen again went from working 5 days a week to 7 days a week, covering extra shifts with her 101 year old client and other fill-ins. She goes above and beyond for all her clients – and she’s worked with about 40 of them. Maureen is observant, caring, dedicated – and she can make almost anyone laugh with her ever present sense of humor. If she can’t make them laugh, it means they are the difficult ones that she sticks by anyways, because she doesn’t give up on them. We look forward to the time after coronavirus when people can come and go freely from our office, so that we have more of the regular Maureen visits that we’ve always enjoyed. She’ll drop by for gloves and have us in stitches with her stories of her adventures with clients. Maureen is for sure one of the people who helped us through the worst of the spring, and we wanted her to know how much we have appreciated it.

​Our CAREGiver of the Month is Pam! Our heads spin when we think of the gifts that Pam has brought Home Instead Norwood in nine short months. Last February, Pam became a CAREGiver at the same time as she took on weekend on-call responsibilities. Before she even completed her on-call training, she was filling shifts here, there, and everywhere. Now Pam is also helping out in the office with schedule coordination. In all these roles, she is a force of goodness, care, and compassion.

Pam has an accomplished background in teaching and global banking. The leadership and communication skills she developed in her career are phenomenal and are helping us every day. Pam’s willingness to cover shifts – even when they are last minute overnights or at the crack of dawn – has been a lifeline, especially during these complicated coronavirus times. A client in an assisted living facility was a terror for many reasons – she would spit on our CAREGivers, pinch them and call them nasty names. But she would hold Pam’s hand and call her sweet names in her native German. Pam probably remembers all the German words – she also has a mastery of several languages, with fluency in Spanish and French, and a decent knowledge of Italian from her family heritage. Or maybe indecent knowledge, since her father taught her all the swear words! She filled in at clients who are an Italian-American couple, and they loved her so much they said she should come live with them.

Whenever Pam works with a client, in her detail-oriented way, she collects the most important information about them, and passes it on to the office and to the other CAREGivers who will be working with them. She makes sure her clients never feel like they are a burden. Her caregiving skill set has expanded rapidly as she learns from hands-on experience, and with guidance from other CAREGivers, about hospice care, bed baths, and whatever else she encounters. No wonder all our clients feel safe with Pam and comforted by her competence and reassuring presence.

​Our CAREGiver of the Month is Martha! Martha joined Home Instead Norwood in 2011, and the only reason she hasn’t been CAREGiver of the Month previously is that she is usually in high demand for private clients, so we often go for long periods without the pleasure of her company. Lately we don’t know what we would have done without Martha! She has filled in on so many shifts with so many clients. The impression that Martha made on us back in 2011 is still the one we have today. She’s so respectful of everyone she meets, so capable, so caring, so professional.

She came to the U.S. from Uganda with extensive training in Health Sciences. Her experience shows in her professionalism. She knows how to monitor her clients closely and how to detect when something is not right with them. The skill of her care comes through most when she has many hours with a client, because she quickly becomes the expert on that client’s wellbeing. Martha does not have to be asked to do things, she just does them before anyone would think to ask. She had a previous client on hospice and was a huge help and comfort to the lady’s family. Among her current clients is a lady with dementia, and the family also thinks she is doing an exceptional job. Martha is the only CAREGiver that the client remembers, and she always makes her smile. She always makes us smile too.

​In her 15 months with Home Instead Norwood, we’ve been impressed by just how well Monica cares for people. When she was younger, Monica would visit her grandmother in a nursing home and help her, brushing her hair, doing her nails, and helping her with meals. She later volunteered in a shelter, helping residents with many of the same tasks. Then she got her CNA and began helping people professionally. Her first client with us was a 24/7 client on hospice, and Monica was one of the trusted CAREGivers who helped this client and her family through that difficult time until the client passed. Monica did a great job keeping our office up to date about her client’s condition and needs. More recently, Monica has been working with a variety of clients, including two different couples. She probably does well with couples because she is a calm, quiet presence who doesn’t try to interfere in their relationships. She doesn’t push people, she just helps them along in her patient and kind way. It also goes a long way for the office that Monica is so reliable and on time to her shifts – and for her clients that Monica is a great cook!

​This is not Dawn’s first time being honored, or even her second. She was a CAREGiver of the Month in 2013, and our CAREGiver of the Year in 2019. Dawn has been with us since 2011, so when someone has been an exceptional employee for almost 10 years, honoring her a third time is an easy choice for us. As COVID-19 has become better managed in Massachusetts, clients who had paused services are resuming, and new clients are coming onboard. Dawn has resumed services with two of our former clients, one whom she worked with before and one new to her. She has also started services with a client new to Home Instead.

Her regular guy is glad to have her back, although he made her show her face from behind her mask before he could understand that it was really her. (He’s very hard of hearing.) The other former client has returned to us while having a lot of family fighting going on among her daughters. Sometimes when this is the case, as our CAREGivers know so well, the most convenient target for their stress is a target outside the family, namely Home Instead and our CAREGivers! Dawn has so exceeded their expectations as a CAREGiver, they have heaped praise on her, and their lashing out has eased a bit. They have even added extra shifts, working around her schedule.

With her third client, the new one, Dawn and the client had a difficult shift together, leaving Dawn to think that she would like to be taken off shifts with her. But she was willing to go to one last shift since it was already scheduled and would be hard for us to fill on short notice. During that shift, the client was able to tell Dawn that she has PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and let Dawn know which things trigger the PTSD. Dawn then sat down to talk with her, to better understand how she could help. Dawn then let the office and the other CAREGivers know about how to avoid triggering the PTSD for the client. The conversation was so productive that both Dawn and the client changed their minds and wish to continue working together.

​Always happy, bubbly and energetic, Stephanie is a whirlwind of a CAREGiver! She is always on the go, between her many clients, her nursing studies, and her family and community activities. She’s been with us for just over 1 ½ years and has helped so many clients in that time. Just last week, Stephanie started with a new client, and they have already asked for her to fill every shift that she can do. That’s not the first time we’ve had that request. Stephanie is great at working with couples because she can manage so many things at one time. Whether it’s her HHA work with us or her activities outside of work, Stephanie is always helping people and is always a great team player. She’s also a great communicator and is fluent in English, French, Haitian Creole, and Spanish. She’s even trained and worked as a medical interpreter. Stephanie also plays volleyball, teaches in her church, and does the shopping for her grandmother, especially during COVID-19. Caring for people, keeping people safe, encouraging them through good days and bad days – that’s what Stephanie does so well.

​We are so grateful that Diana came our way about a year ago when we took on a client from an agency that folded. Diana was one of her overnight regulars. It didn’t take long to see that Diana can handle just about any situation that comes her way: the live-in son of a client – check; conflicts between a client’s kids and a girlfriend – check; high expectations from a client’s wife – check. Diana is solid as a rock through all the drama. Even the very particular wife wanted only Diana for the 7 nights a week overnights with her husband! Maybe it’s her experience as a bus mechanic for the MBTA, or as a crossing guard – Diana is responsible for keeping people safe, no matter the circumstances. She is super hardworking and has helped us out with many difficult assignments and last minute fill-ins. It’s great to see how confident she is with any new client and we so appreciate her willingness to always give it a try.

​Sarah is a CNA who started with Home Instead Norwood a year ago. She went straight from her orientation to an introduction with her new client, and her first shift with him was the next night. From that night on, Sarah was his CAREGiver for four overnights a week until he recently went into the hospital, and sadly passed away. It was a loss that hit her hard – Sarah cares for her clients as if they are family. She is a communicator and a bridge builder. In the past, Sarah worked as a community officer for the American Red Cross, making connections between the community and the organization. She has also worked with people with mental health and substance abuse issues, and she has cared for seniors in homes, hospitals and rehabs. Sarah also helps others celebrate the most important days in their lives by doing the decorations for weddings and parties at her church. She is now helping us with new clients who need lots of care to stay at home, but whose families are trying to keep them home, safe from COVID-19 outbreaks in facilities.

​March marks two years of Bertha’s becoming a Home Instead CAREGiver. Bertha is probably our most graceful CAREGiver, with a background as a professional ballet dancer! She also has a graceful way of making her clients feel like they are receiving the best care there is. Caring for others has always been a part of Bertha. She worked with children first, and then as a group leader and supervisor for young adults with special needs. After working for a time with seniors at Home Instead, Bertha pursued CNA/HHA certification and completed her CNA course last September. This has opened up the kinds of assignments we can offer her. One longtime client of Bertha’s paused her overnights during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Bertha jumped in with several other clients who can’t do without our care. Bertha is coming through for them and Home Instead in so many ways.

​It’s been a year and a half since Vanessa joined our team. It took a little while to find her the right shifts for her busy life. Vanessa is an Operating Room Assistant at a Boston hospital and is pursuing nursing school classes. Once we found her overnights that worked with her schedule, she was with that client until he passed away about a year later. Vanessa is someone you can count on, as you can imagine in someone trusted to prepare the patient and the OR for surgery. She is meticulous and organized. Vanessa knew from her teens when she cared for her very ill grandmother that she wanted to be a professional caregiver. She loves helping others, and others love her outgoing, energetic, caring ways.

​There’s a lot of happy going around with Gigi! She loves to make her clients happy, and helping them makes her happy. It’s a positive cycle. As an HHA with lots of experience, Gigi has worked with so many of our clients in her almost 2 years with Home Instead Norwood. She has helped people who need assistance running errands, and people who are bedbound. She works on teams or on solo assignments, short shifts or long shifts, for individuals or for couples. Gigi is trusted even for assignments like picking up a frail client from dialysis and bringing her home and getting her settled for the evening. That’s a lot of happiness that she has shared with a lot of our clients.

​For over 8 years, Dawn has been caring for Home Instead clients with a commitment to giving them the best possible quality of life possible. She has such respect for them as the unique individuals that they are. For this reason, we have nominated her to the home office of Home Instead Senior Care in Omaha, NE, for recognition as our CAREGiver of the Year.

Dawn came to CAREGiving as a way to help people, after seeing an ad in the paper for Home Instead. She had cared for her grandparents while they were still alive. She didn’t have formal training as an HHA or CNA. In fact, she has a degree in Business Administration & Accounting.

While that training may seem totally irrelevant to home care, in Dawn it helps her be the exceptional CAREGiver that she is. What makes her a skilled accountant extends into her approach to caring for her clients. She uses her skills to quantify, standardize and create systems that will deliver well-documented, quality care with a trail of detail to provide continuity of care across all shifts.

This has made the difference with clients who might not have been able to stay at home without Dawn’s efforts. These clients started with a few hours or shifts a week, and in the end needed 24/7 care eventually with hospice at home. Dawn stayed with her clients until the end, learning and growing as their needs changed. And whether a client has just a few hours or 24/7 care, she brings the same attention to each client, looking out for all their needs and communicating the details with the office in real time.

It’s important to note that Dawn’s care is much more than just precision. Behind Dawn’s focus on detail and process lies a deep well of compassion and caring. She doesn’t judge her clients for their shortcomings or failures. She accepts them where and how they are and gives them the support to live the best they can at that moment, while always looking ahead a few steps for what might be needed soon. She sticks with them even when they have hard-to-manage behaviors or are just plain mean.

Above all, in the way that Dawn combines her gift for detail with her big, protective heart, she always inspires us in the office to do the best we can by our clients. Dawn truly goes above and beyond in all that she does. With our nomination of Dawn as our office's CAREGiver of the Year, Dawn will be entered for consideration in the regional and national CAREGiver of the Year awards.

​Carline was inspired to pursue her home care career after caring for her mom. That was a great decision because she's so good at it, as she has consistently shown us over the past year and a half. Her first assignment with us was on a team of CAREGivers caring for a man who had a stroke and needs a 2 person assist for transfers and other ADLs. She's still on that case and just added some extra hours with him, as well as helping us out frequently with fill-ins. Six months ago she also began working with a couple. Carline moved here recently from Florida and doesn't drive yet, so the couple was unsure about whether she was the right fit since they might need some errands done. But after they saw how the wife who has Alzheimer's took to Carline, they put aside any concerns. Carline is a people person and she pulls people out of their shell. The wife wouldn't let anyone go into her bedroom or give her a shower, until Carline worked wonders with her. Now that they are comfortable with her, Carline also cooks for them. They just keep adding hours and days, and Carline has been flexible about accommodating the changing schedule.

​The first thing you might notice about Thirtza is her big, bright smile. It's so warm and confident. That's just how her care is too. Thirtza is an old friend to us at Home Instead, having first been hired in 2013. At that time, Thirtza had both PCA experience as well as Account Management and Administrative skills in her past work. When her own dad needed care, Thirtza took some time away, and she returned to us this year. She's been a godsend! Thirtza is working with a couple who still live on their own, for better or for worse. She generally works with them 4 or 5 days a week, twice a day. Last week she was there all seven days! She has also made time to add a third daily shift on two recent occasions, to take them to medical appointments. Both clients are very independent-minded and private about their personal care. However, the wife has come to trust Thirtza and recently asked for assistance in the bathroom. Thirtza noticed a bedsore that looked like it needed medical attention, and alerted the office right away after the shift. We contacted the son, who was able to get his mom the care she needed for it, and was very grateful to Thirtza. It's unlikely that the client would have asked for the care on her own. Thirtza's calm, diligent approach makes her clients feel comfortable, and that means she is able to make a difference in their lives.

​Celine proves week after week how just a few hours of help from the right person can be the key to a client staying independently at home. She came to Home Instead after having worked in the travel industry, looking for a change and for flexible mother's hours that would allow her to do meaningful work with time for her family and interests like cooking, travel and skiing with her boys. She had cared for family and some private clients in the past, but this was a new avenue for her. Along with the organizational skills that she possessed, Celine brought invaluable traits to this new job: kindness, compassion, and the patience to listen to her clients. By listening so carefully to who they are and what they want, Celine makes their lives better without trying to change them. She has worked with one man since she started about a year and a half ago. He is fiercely committed to living on his own despite many health problems. At times he has been hospitalized, and Celine has been able to go to his place and tidy it up from his emergency departures so that he can come back to a cleaner, more organized home. Her other long term client, a woman in her 90s who is legally blind, also has many other health conditions. This client is an excellent judge of caregiving skills, so the fact that Celine is one of her approved CAREGivers is a great compliment. Celine gets so much done for these clients in the 3-4 hours she is with them. She anticipates their needs, and as their conditions have advanced, she has grown and learned how to adjust care for their new issues. We also always enjoy seeing Celine at our CAREGiver meetings - she always comes to advance her learning and training skills.

​This is a repeat award for Ruth and very well deserved. Ruth has always been a stellar CAREGiver. She's a CNA/HHA, and we've always known that she has the ability to go anywhere and care for anyone. In her 4 years here she's worked with so many clients. This summer a unique client came to us and we knew Ruth would be the perfect person for it. She was at the point of wanting a solid assignment with many hours, and if we didn't have it she was going to have to look elsewhere. This came at just the right time. For the last couple of months, Ruth was the main daytime CAREGiver for a man who was very prominent in the community. He had many family members and friends who all wanted to see him in what turned out to be his last days. He declined quickly but was still a force to be reckoned with - he had an abundance of humor and kindness right to the end. This assignment required more than just caregiving skills - it also involved management techniques and social skills - and Ruth was a wonder at it all. She had to deal with a frequent flow of people in and out, remembering their names and relationships and making them feel welcome. At the same time, she had to put her client first and know when to usher them out when it was too much. Ruth always found the right balance. She was quiet and competent, but also quick-witted, matching her client joke for joke. She always showed him respect but knew how to gently make sure everything important got done. Ruth did all of this while making sure that the house was always meticulously clean. Her client passed while Ruth was there. We thank her for giving this client and his family her very best.

​For her two years with us, Guinda has always been the right CAREGiver at the right time. Her first assignment was overnights with one of our toughest clients. From there she took on some temporary clients just when we needed someone who could cover them. Guinda was the go-to person who would make our schedules fall into place correctly. Eventually she took 3 overnights a week with a woman who has some dementia. Because of Guinda's warm, comforting approach, the client took to her right away. This client has a power of attorney (POA) who oversees her care, and Home Instead fills in shifts that her private CAREGivers can't cover. It's a complicated setup that requires more communication than some assignments. Guinda responded well to feedback that the POA wanted more detail in her log notes and some other care changes. It's a great example of one thing that makes a successful CAREGiver - someone who can hear feedback and make changes accordingly. Guinda has also adapted her care as her client has declined. Initially they could read the newspaper together, play with some toys, and sing songs. Now she is bedbound on hospice and Guinda helps keep her comfortable. Guinda is naturally sweet and caring, and always willing to help.

​Bernadette came to us about a year ago recommended by one of our longest serving and best CAREGivers, Pam. We have not been disappointed. Bernadette is the real deal - a person with a rich, full life of experience who in turn enhances the life of anyone she cares for. As with Pam, we rarely hear from Bernadette's clients because they are so content with their care. Bernadette retired from a career as a Unit Coordinator at a busy hospital to care for her mother. This experience then inspired her to try caregiving professionally. It's a great fit for her. Her steady, caring character is so right for many seniors. She treats all with respect and is respected by all. Her current clients are quite particular, and Bernadette eased into caring for them effortlessly. It's hard to believe it's only been a year, and we hope this will be the right fit for Bernadette for some time to come.

​It's the perfect time to honor Susan, because one of her biggest fans, the daughter of her client, has been visiting from overseas. The daughter let us know how much she appreciates Susan's patient, caring way of interacting with her mom. The daughter sees this firsthand, because she stays in her mom's home when she visits for several weeks, four times a year. The overnight CAREGivers like Susan still work their regular hours during her visits so the daughter can get some rest. Susan's client has dementia, but with the 24/7 care team that Home Instead provides, she has managed to stay in her own home so far. During any shift, but especially for the overnight people, you never know how the client will be. She could sleep quite well, or she could be confused and agitated most of the night. Her needs are complex and keeping her safe and well is an ongoing challenge. Susan is always ready to listen, to find out what's behind the agitation or discomfort, and to try to respond with empathy and respect. In the office, we appreciate Susan's detailed reports about her client's status. We also appreciate her reliability. Susan has been with her client since she joined Home Instead about 1 1/2 years ago. Like many of our CAREGivers, Susan first cared for a family member, her grandmother, and then pursued it professionally over the last decade, obtaining her CNA license and HHA certification. Susan has said herself that giving to others is her calling, and it is evident to all who see her in action.

​Tawa has caring in her DNA, according to our coordinator Jeannie. She is by nature a kind, considerate, and cheerful person. She first took care of her mother-in-law and then made caring for others her vocation. In her 2 1/2 years with us at Home Instead Norwood, Tawa has helped 17 clients - some for a long time, and others just for a fill-in once or twice. She is willing and able to help clients at any level of care, from taking them to appointments or out for lunch, to assisting them with bathing and dressing when they need much more care. This means that Tawa has stayed with some of her clients for a long time. She started with one man for 4 hours a week, taking him out to the Elks' Club and other favorite places of his. Eventually after a hospitalization, he came home basically bed-bound, and Tawa was still with him, part of a bigger care team by then. Another client of Tawa's went in the other direction, coming home after a hospitalization and getting better over the months of care until she no longer needed us. Her current client is always looking good under Tawa's care - Tawa does her hair and polishes her nails and they have a lovely time together.

​Erika joined Home Instead Norwood in 2014 after relocating here from the west coast. She had previously worked with people with developmental disabilities. As a result, Erika was very skilled at communicating with people of all ages and abilities. This came in very handy with her first Home Instead client, a man who had experienced multiple strokes. This, plus some dementia, left him with a lot of difficulty and frustration when trying to communicate. Erika was a great fit for him, and also got along well with his wife and daughter who were involved in his care. Overnights are Erika's preferred shifts, and for 2 years she worked 3 overnights a week with this client. When he needed to move into a long term care facility, Erika took some time off. She returned to us about a year later and jumped in to a similar role with another client. Two overnights a week for going on 2 years now, Erika cares for a woman on hospice. She has very specific care needs, and her family are very hands-on and involved in her care. Erika has fit in seamlessly, and is reliable, dedicated, and there for the long haul. As with her first client, Erika is likely to be with this client until she no longer needs us. Our overnights-only CAREGivers are a special crew with demanding schedules, and Erika has shown herself to be up to the challenge.

​For the last six months, Kerwin has been providing outstanding care as the key CAREGiver for a man with Parkinson's. His family is trying to keep him at home, and Kerwin has been a huge part of making that possible. He has OK days and worse days, and has been on a downward trend. He's lost mobility and expressiveness, and has had problems with pressure sores. Kerwin treats him so well, always conscientious and kind. She keeps him clean and comfortable. She has always treated all her clients this way in her 2+ years with Home Instead Norwood. Clients never want to lose Kerwin as their CAREGiver, and she sticks it out with them. She's been an important team member caring for several hospice clients, staying with them until the end. Other clients have moved into care facilities. Now her big guy with Parkinson's is also on hospice care, and family members are providing more of his care. But they can't do without Kerwin who still holds down the weekends so that the family has some respite. Her steady care continues in the face of all the challenges that are there, and the family appreciates it so much.

​Leante has cared for multiple clients at any given time for nearly 3 years with Home Instead Norwood. If there's one common theme for her clients, it's that Leante is their ticket to freedom! She gets them out and about, rain or shine, winter or summer. Leante is always game to take them to the places that make them happy. She cared for a set of twins in their 80s who wanted to do crazy things, and Leante would make it happen while always keeping them safe. She has a lady who she takes out to get her hair and nails done, and another one who likes to go from store to store to store. Leante makes their dreams come true. What's also remarkable about Leante is that she is not yet thirty, but no client has ever said: please send me someone older (which we get a lot from our clients). She's got the humor, enthusiasm and energy of a young person but the maturity and people skills of someone with a few more years on them! It's the perfect fit for her lucky clients.

​Each year we can nominate a CAREGiver of the Year to the corporate office to be considered as the Regional CAREGiver of the Year or even the National CAREGiver of the Year. This year we nominated Maureen as our CAREGiver of the Year! We had plenty to tell them about how Maureen lives the values of Home Instead by sharing her heart and taking the lead with her clients. Maureen is not someone who looks for or asks for recognition. However, she stands out to us, her clients, and their families. She is compassionate, friendly, dedicated, and gets along with everyone. Since she started in February 2015, Maureen has worked almost 6000 hours with 31 clients. For over a year, Maureen worked 7 days a week so that her clients would have their familiar CAREGiver. She is still working 6 days a week now. Maureen doesn't give up on clients even when they are difficult. She has grown with her clients as their needs advance. Maureen takes the initiative to come by the office when a client needs more gloves or activity logs, and she gives us updates on how her clients are doing, and raises our spirits with her stories and upbeat approach to life. When Maureen started as a CAREGiver, she told us she wished she had known about this job earlier. She loves this work because it makes her feel good to help other people. We think she has more than made up for any lost time finding her vocation. With so many Home Instead offices, it's possible that Maureen may not be a finalist for the regional or national contest, but she is for sure our winner for CAREGiver of the Year!

​It's been a great year having Belinda on our Home Instead team. She's a patient, caring HHA who has worked with 12 clients in the past year, now with 3 of them as long term, ongoing clients. Caring for people is something Belinda has wanted to do for years, ever since she cared for her grandfather. She is great with her clients. One thing that stands out with Belinda is how she treats everyone with kindness, respect and dignity. We also appreciate many other things about Belinda. She is great at accepting fill-in shifts whenever she can. She takes input from the office well and readily adapts to changing client needs. She understands the importance of communicating about a client's status and checks in with us to make sure there are no misunderstandings. Belinda is quiet in her manner in a way that puts her clients and their families at ease. All of these qualities make her an excellent CAREGiver.

​Berly is at her one-year anniversary with Home Instead Norwood this month. She came to us with 5 years of HHA experience and went right to work with the client she is still caring for. Berly is with her client every weekday, Monday through Friday, so that the lady's husband can go to work. The client has advanced dementia although she is only 70 years old. If Berly wasn't there, the lady would probably be bedbound. She can no longer walk or talk. Berly does all her transfers and keeps her washed up and free from pressure sores. She feeds her, talks to her, goes through pictures with her, and pretends to play piano with her, something the lady used to do. Berly also loves music and loves to read. Berly is so reliable that she hasn't missed a day this whole year. On holidays when the husband stays home, Berly will often fill in for us at other clients. As with her regular client, Berly is always thorough and respectful of other people's needs everywhere she goes. We can't say enough good things about Berly - she's exceptional!

​Chris’s 8-year anniversary with us is next month, and that makes her the 2nd longest serving CAREGiver who has worked with us continuously. That also makes her a caregiving superstar to us. Chris’ style of caregiving is smooth, uninterrupted, reliable excellence. She always gives her clients the best support they can get, and she is always there for them. There's no drama because she doesn't insert herself into other people's affairs. Chris respects the clients’ wishes and perspectives. Because of this she is able to get along with clients that other CAREGivers have found difficult. Chris completed her HHA/CNA training with the American Red Cross in the early 2000s, so her skills are great. She prefers overnights and a steady schedule. Chris also stays with clients until the end, whether that means that they move to a facility or they pass away. She’s had so many long-term clients, but she has been with the same lady since January 2017, 4 overnights a week. It's that kind of dependability that makes Chris such an invaluable member of our team.

​Darline has been doing many fill-ins for us lately, and we really appreciate it. It can be hard to find people to take short shifts, but they work out pretty well for Darline. She also works for Boston Public Schools so during the week she can fit in short shifts around her school responsibilities. And on the weekends, Darline is willing and able to work short or long shifts. Over the summer she can pick up more shifts here and there, and it's always such a relief when she can fill in on a holiday, just when the CAREGivers with school-age kids are asking for the day off. Being an HHA, Darline can also work with almost any client. For these reasons, Darline has had many clients with us since she started in late 2016. She's been with one lady for about a year, for several 2- or 3-hour shifts a week. She takes her out on errands, which the client really likes. With all of her clients, Darline is patient and reliable. She makes sure they are safe, and she treats them well.

​Edna is a caring, conscientious CNA with over three decades of experience taking care of people. We are lucky to have her, since she also works full time at a hospital. After that, she takes care of two of our ladies in the early evening, and she has been with them from the time she joined Home Instead Norwood almost a year and a half ago. Those ladies and their daughters have so much praise for Edna - they all adore her. Edna fills in whenever she can which always helps us out. The ladies are always happy to see more of Edna - not only does she always make them feel well cared for and safe, she is also good company.

​Since the week she started with us in April 2017, Marie has worked consistently with the same lady client. At first she had just a handful of hours, but she is now with her 6 days, for 35-40 hours a week. Her client has had a stroke and is always at risk of falling, but she is an intelligent and independent woman who still lives alone. Marie makes her feel safe and knows how to be attentive to her needs without making her feel needy. The client knows she can count on Marie. We have also counted on her many times to help us out in a pinch, filling in many times, even on short notice. Marie is someone who always aims to do better - for example, by working on her own time to improve her communication skills. Or when traffic began making her just a few minutes late some mornings, she changed her routine so now she is almost always a few minutes early. Like many of our best CAREGivers, Marie is caring, responsible and trustworthy. But Marie is also unique for her commitment to quiet excellence and constant improvement, and we applaud her for it.

​Marline has been with us for about 2 1/2 years. We were amazed to see how many different clients she has worked with in that time! In part this is because she is hardworking and has the skills and temperament to work with anyone. In part this is also because she has her mom back in Jamaica whom she visits a couple times a year for a month or more at a time. When Marline gets back to the U.S., she will pick up a bunch of different shifts until we can re-establish a regular schedule with her. And any client who has had Marline care for him or her before will almost always want her back. During this past winter's snowstorms, Marline was willing to go to a client she hadn't met before, and stay with her for over 24 hours because this client can't be left alone. Of all her clients, Marline has worked the longest with a lady who has been on hospice for a long, long time. Marline is part of a team there, and does well in that setting as well as on her own. She is a great communicator, and she brings a sense of strength and calm to her work which is much appreciated by all around her.

​It's been just shy of one year since Mareisha joined us as a CAREGiver. In that time she has been a whirlwind of help and care for so many clients. After just one visit, each client she meets will beg us to keep sending Mareisha to them. Luckily, Mareisha has such a strong work ethic that she will take on many clients at once, going from one shift to the next and taking on fill-in shifts whenever possible. Mareisha has really wide-ranging experience, from care in group homes and preschool to administration to security. Her competence is impressive and her emotional intelligence even more so - she really understands her clients and their needs and approaches them with respect and kindness. Her clients always feel safe with Mareisha caring for them. Despite her busy schedule, Mareisha always makes time for the most important thing in her life, her family - whether it's just relaxing at home or traveling to the basketball tournaments of her nephew - she is there for them.

​Margaret is nearing 3 years with Home Instead Norwood and she presently takes great care of three of our HESSCO ladies. The ideal HESSCO caregiver can get a lot done in a short time since HESSCO may only approve 2-3 hours, and still make the client feel like you care about them. This is exactly what Margaret does. One of her clients has been a bit of a hoarder, and Margaret worked with her to gradually do a major cleanup, clearing out items to donate or discard. It resulted in a huge transformation in her house. It's no wonder that Margaret is organized, after 30 years in administration with the state police. She is also very reliable and on time. We're glad that when she retired, she wanted to go back to caregiving which she had done earlier in life. It's the perfect vocation for someone who is as kind hearted and caring as she is. For Christmas, Margaret made beautiful afghan quilts for all her clients which they adored.

​Maryse has been providing Home Instead Norwood clients with her gentle, skilled care for a year, and she's been a CNA for over a decade. Her focus is always on her client's entire wellbeing - physical, mental and emotional. Maryse is softspoken and sweet with people, and very committed to her clients. She knows when to talk to clients and when to give them space, when to calm them down and when to make them laugh. Maryse is also extremely professional and has a great work ethic. Her clients are always well cared for and she keeps their homes neat and tidy. She makes good decisions and works well independently. Maryse also keeps in good touch by leaving us a general message when she clocks out - it's always reassuring to hear her tell us about her client in her kind, steady voice: "She is fine."

​Brenda has been making clients' lives better for a year and a half at Home Instead Norwood. We think she's probably been making people's lives better for her whole life - she's been a nanny, a private caregiver, and helped with a family cleaning business. She works hard, with heart. Her first client with us was a man diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia, so his judgement and functioning was starting to be impaired, though he still lived alone and independently. He had a dog that had accidents all over the place. Brenda would whip everything into cleanliness and order twice a week to start, then soon after, three times per week. Eventually he needed to move into a living situation with better support, and Brenda helped him organize and downsize his many possessions, and make the move. He was a divorced man with no family around - if Brenda hadn't been there to help him he never would have been able to make the transition as well as he did. Brenda now has two women clients. The one she's been with longer says she's a godsend. She needs very precise care, and Brenda gets all the details just right. Her most recent lady is a difficult one, but Brenda told us how she handles clients like this - she tries to find something in common with the person, and that gives her a way to identify with them, and to figure out how to make them feel better. That sounds like a textbook definition of empathy, and we feel all the wiser for having learned it from her.