Home Instead® Client Care Coordinator Libbie Miller and Care Professional Pam Duncan arrived at the home of Pam’s client for a “QA,” otherwise known as a “Quality Assurance Visit.” Libbie and Pam expected to spend a half hour or more chatting about the client’s plan of care and satisfaction, Pam’s Care Pro performance and any of the client’s anticipated changing needs.
Instead, what Libbie and Pam discovered was a shocker.
Libbie recalled: “We found the client on the floor. Pam remained calm and helped the client stay focused while we waited for the fire department’s EMTs to arrive.”
Libbie added: “Three months earlier, Pam was with a different client as she took her final breath. They had grown close in the time leading up to the client’s passing. With such situations in mind – and others – I already had been thinking about this, but I was now certain Pam should be nominated again for our franchise’s Care Pro of the Month award. Pam had been our franchise’s Care Pro of the Month in June 2025. I thought, ‘Why not honor her again? She deserves it.’ ”
Libbie explained: “Pam shows compassion and professionalism, and exudes calmness and positive energy in all situations. Her clients adore Pam and look forward to seeing her. We are very lucky to have Pam as part of our Home Instead family. The office agreed unanimously that Pam deserves this recognition again!”
Pam said: “I have learned that all people just want to belong, to be accepted, be treated and respected as the human beings who they are. They just want to be seen and heard. Many of my clients tell me I make them feel this way. Some of my clients say I treat them like the human beings who they are.”
Pam is now a two-time Care Pro of the Month at owner Michael Lammers’ award-winning franchise that serves Boulder, Broomfield and northwest Adams Counties. Home Instead helps seniors and their families in the Flatirons area from its office in Louisville, Colorado.
More than a year ago, one of Pam’s clients unexpectedly said four memorable words during a conversation. Pam recalled: “My client asked how we should view our relationship, and I responded by saying: ‘friends.’ She said: ‘No, more like sisters.’ That really warmed my heart.”
Pam further explained: “The client lived in a memory care facility. We built a great friendship and enjoyed a lot of mutual things we liked to do together. Those activities included walking, some hiking, driving through the mountains and eating ice cream. We also played with dogs brought into her facility and those outside of her residence.”
Assisting a person who lives with dementia is not a foreign experience for Pam, who first joined Home Instead 11 years ago. “I took care of each of my parents for a period near the end of their lives. I cherished our times of fun, when my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and my dad had another form of dementia. We especially enjoyed going for drives, picnics and walks outside in their wheelchairs together,” Pam said.
Pam’s primary professional background is in sales, but she was laid off in the tech industry as a sales professional in 2023. Pam opted to return to caregiving – she had come aboard at Home Instead for a year in 2014 – because she was still interested in the field. “In addition to my parents,” Pam said, “I also cared for a close family friend’s mother. In general – including family caregiving – I find caregiving very rewarding. What I like most about my Home Instead Care Professional job is providing positive, fun and joy-filled experiences for my clients.”
Pam’s most recent stint at Home Instead began Dec. 16, 2024. Home Instead Recruitment and Engagement Coordinator Brenda Munro noted: “We were glad when Pam returned in a full-time capacity. She is friendly and compassionate, and truly has a caregiver’s heart.”
Pam said serving as a Care Pro has enhanced her life in ways that she could not have anticipated. “I have learned from my clients that living in the moment is really all you have, and it is what is most important. I have learned to slow down, seek joy in the moment, focus on what the client can do – not what they can’t do – and discover what compassion really means,” Pam said.
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (720) 890-0184 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website at HomeInstead.com/397.
