Home Instead® of Louisville, Colorado, isn’t just Kira Lindsay’s employer. The twice-honored Care Professional of the Month’s relationship with her office staff is far warmer than the typical boss-worker arrangement. “I have something I’d love to share,” Kira said. “I am so ridiculously grateful to the kind people who work in the office. They treat me like family. Outside of work, they even encouraged me to return to one of my former beloved hobbies – singing.”
When Kira’s friends reveal how much they dislike their bosses, Kira said she thinks, “Man, am I blessed!” Kira feels she can be honest with the Home Instead office staff. Kira said: “They genuinely want me to be happy. It’s obvious how much they care about their Care Pros’ general well-being. Our director of home care operations, Melinda Pfanstiel, specifically is an angel, like a pure bundle of love. Once, when I had COVID, she drove to my apartment to give both my boyfriend and me a COVID test.”
Most important, Melinda is the primary reason Kira still works for the award-winning Home Instead franchise that serves Boulder, Broomfield and northwest Adams Counties. “When I started at the end of April 2021,” Kira recalled, “I was having a really hard time. I quickly realized that work was so much more physically and mentally complex than I had anticipated. I felt overwhelmed and was ready to quit.”
Then, while taking a company survey, Kira wrote that she didn’t plan to be working for Home Instead in six months. “It was at a time I shared some troubles with Melinda, and she said I didn’t have to work with clients who were too challenging. I didn’t realize I had a choice,” Kira said. Melinda explained Kira had preferences for clients. Reflecting on that conversation, Kira said: “Here I am, nearly four years in, happy. I love my clients.”
Having hit stride in her job, Kira has been honored twice as the franchise’s Care Pro of the Month, in January 2022 and February 2025.
“Because of the kindness and help from my staff, I enjoy my job. I spend most of my shifts doing what I’m best at – providing companionship and light housekeeping. As crazy as it sounds, cleaning is one of my favorite hobbies. I also love making people laugh. I give them friendship and love, making life feel more like a party, because everyone needs a break from the mundane,” Kira said.
Anytime Kira has a challenge, big or small, the office staff solves it. “Being around them feels like hanging out at a family gathering,” she said. The Home Instead staff members also made an impact on Kira’s life after they learned she enjoys singing. “I’m pretty shy, so they had been pushing me to sing at their office parties. During the last Christmas party, Brenda, Joan and Melinda egged me on to sing carols. I did, and they encouraged me to do more,” Kira said.
She earned a musical theater degree at the University of Northern Colorado. “But in college,” Kira said, “I had developed stage fright, so I stopped performing after I graduated. Steven Stump, our business development manager, heard me sing the carols. He told his wife, who is the activities director at an independent living senior facility, and she called me.”
When a New Year’s Eve singer pulled out at the last minute at the senior facility, Steven’s wife persuaded Kira to stand in. “That is the only thing that could have gotten me back in front of an audience; I had spent six years away from performing. I got my first-ever gig under my belt, and I landed another one. I thank my office ladies and Steven for pushing me to sing again. I swear our office is the most supportive, caring and understanding group anyone could ever work for.”
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.
