There is no limit to Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Shay Wetzel’s compassion. Whether working with animals or blessing people, Shay has devoted 100 percent to their care and comfort. Sure, there are differences, but Shay’s heart always has responded in the same way.
Shay explained: “I had mostly been working with animals, with that background including my studies at a veterinarian school in Denver. Working with animals taught me attentiveness beyond words. Animals communicate through behavior, posture and subtle shifts in energy, and you learn quickly observation is everything. That skill translates beautifully into caregiving. Many seniors, especially those experiencing cognitive or physical decline, communicate in similar nonverbal ways.”
Shay shifted gears before the New Year. “I wanted to expand my care to people, especially seniors,” she said. “I have had a wide background of occupations, and it’s well-rounded for a field where I am now utilizing many skills.” Following a Google search, Shay applied at the award-winning Home Instead franchise that serves Boulder and Broomfield Counties and northwest Adams County from its Louisville office.
“Finding Home Instead was practical, but choosing it was intentional. I have always been drawn to the deeper layers of human experience, the emotional undercurrents, the unspoken cues, the psychology behind behavior and memory. Seniors hold entire lifetimes within them. They carry stories, loss, resilience, humor and wisdom,” Shay said.
Although she’s been a Care Pro for three months, Shay said: “It feels as if it is much longer in lived experience. My outlook revolves around presence and the psyche. My diverse work background has allowed me to adapt to different personalities, environments and expectations. It has made me versatile. In caregiving, you draw from everything, such as discipline, empathy, observation, organization and emotional regulation. I feel as though every past role prepared me. It’s the first field where all of those skills converge in a deeply human way.”
Perhaps without realizing it fully, Shay had developed senior-care skills long before she landed at Home Instead. Family caregiving has touched Shay’s inner being in a magnificent way and benefited her Home Instead clients, many of whom are de facto family members.
“My grandma raised me. I would spend so much time with her and was always the one by her side on overnights at hospitals. I’d have sleepovers into my adulthood, all the way until she passed away. My grandmother was my foundation. I wanted her to feel safe, accompanied and less alone. Even at a young age, I understood that presence matters. Sometimes you cannot fix what is happening medically, but you can hold someone’s hand,” Shay explained.
“I witnessed vulnerability and aging, and the strength it takes to endure both. I also learned love shows up in small acts: adjusting a pillow, getting water, staying awake just in case they need you. When she passed away, I held with me not just grief, but a deeper reverence for the elderly and the sacredness of caring for them. That experience is not separate from my work, it is the root of it.”
Shay is an important part of the Care Pro team at the Front Range franchise, a member of a network comprised of Home Instead, Inc. and its parent company, Honor. With the world’s largest home-care network and the most advanced care platform, Honor and Home Instead are revolutionizing care for older adults, their families and Care Pros. Combined, the network has more than 100,000 Care Pros across 13 countries, meeting the growing needs of millions of older adults and their families worldwide.
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call {{PHONE}} or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website at HomeInstead.com/397.
