Caregiving Is Honoree Sandra’s Calling
Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Sandra Morton sometimes answered to the nickname “Gunny Sergeant” when she was assisting a client of hers who’d been a decorated U.S. Marine, just like Sandra’s late father. Sandra smiled whenever her client lightheartedly used that nickname.
Sandra often thought of her father whenever she was helping her client, who had selected Home Instead of Clearwater, Florida, for his care. “My client was like my dad, who was a Korean War veteran and Marine sergeant who spent three years in the service of our country. Because my father was a Marine, that was a huge bonding factor with my client. There is always a getting-to-know period between a Care Pro and a new client. I felt mine went smoothly because I told the client about my dad of whom I was so proud.”
When providing such important care as medication reminders, Sandra was confident and decisive with her client, always using a respectful and compassionate tone. Sandra recalled, “My client just liked to tease me. He was the only client who had a nickname for me.”
Needless to say, it was a sad day when Sandra’s client passed away. “I had assisted him for nearly two years. Oddly enough, as I was driving to his home for my shift one day, he phoned me and stated he did not feel well and asked me to get there as fast as I could. When I arrived, I assessed his condition and knew he was having a heart attack, so I called 911. I stayed at the hospital with him after he was transported,” Sandra said.
“I phoned the office and then quickly called his daughter in New York, and she and other family members traveled here as fast as they could. They were with him before he died at the hospital. He had no family who lived in Florida. It was sad because he was one cool dude. In general, I take time to reflect on a client’s life after their passing and process my grief. But I try to jump back into work because other people need care.”
Sandra is a native of Royal Oak, Michigan, who moved to Florida in 1983. She worked at the nuclear plant in Crystal River, Florida, for 10 years as a scheduler before the plant was decommissioned and most workers lost their jobs. Sandra entered a state retraining program, and the state paid for her five-month CNA education. As a result, Sandra went into the professional caregiving world. “I’ve been a CNA for 31 years,” Sandra said.
After a year and a half of working at a nursing home and with several home-health Medicare agencies, Sandra landed at owner Julie Castle’s award-winning Home Instead franchise in Clearwater. There were two separate occasions at Home Instead, with a family caregiving episode wedged between them. “I had two starting dates with Home Instead,” Sandra explained, “beginning first in August 2015 and returning in February 2021. I took a leave of absence in November 2015 when my father became very sick.”
Sandra added: “I was going to resign at Home Instead, but JC Crady, our director of Care Professional services, wanted me to come back when I was ready. She didn’t want me to do an exit interview. Instead, I took a leave of absence. My dad passed away shortly after that. A chain of events led to my return to Home Instead. In February 2021, when I was working for a home-health Medicare agency, a Home Instead Care Pro and I arrived at a client’s home simultaneously. It is against Medicare rules for both of us to be there at the same time, so I needed to call Home Instead to rectify the situation. Oddly, when I made the call, I spoke to JC, who took the opportunity to ask me to come back to Home Instead, which is what I did immediately.”
“Family caregiving” carries special significance with Sandra. In 1990, her mother was the first family member who needed care. “I had no idea what was involved in caring for a hospice patient, including all facets of personal care,” Sandra said. She became acquainted with the death of someone close to her for the first time when her mother passed away at age 60. “My goal was to give her the best possible care,” Sandra said.
Sandra later served as the family caregiver for her father in 2015 and her brother in 2025. Her brother experienced a major medical challenge that had landed him in the hospital. Sandra still provides care for him.
Sandra approaches her Home Instead job as if her clients were family. “I enjoy working for Home Instead. The staff members are great. They are almost like family. I am comfortable with Home Instead,” Sandra said. “I work every day of the week except Wednesday, which is a ‘take-care-of-me day.’ Home Instead is flexible to my scheduling needs.”
Included among her five regular clients is a client who connected with Sandra in a special way. “When I arrive at her home, the client says, ‘Oh, there’s my Sandra! She’s here!’ She’s in bed when I get there. Sunday mornings are our French toast days, and she loves it. It does make me feel good, just knowing I make a difference when I am with a client,” said Sandra, who said she doesn’t envision a future without Home Instead.
“I am going on 70, but I feel younger,” Sandra said. “If I can help someone have a better quality of life, I want to keep going. I’ll do this job as long as I can.”
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (727) 799-1400 or visit our website.
