Jerald Thompson recalled one of the biggest challenges of his life – a family caregiving season of life – as he and his siblings tended to their father. The fulfilling undertaking, which had its expected ups and downs, propelled Jerald toward a Care Professional position with owner Greg Gomez-Mira’s award-winning Home Instead® franchise that serves south-central Houston.
“We cared for my father after my mother passed away. I knew a professional in-home caregiving job would include a lot of the same tasks I had experienced with my father. One-on-one care is far preferable for senior loved ones,” Jerald explained.
Jerald noticed Home Instead on a television commercial and made a phone call. On May 24, 2023, he joined the Home Instead franchise that Greg, a Certified Senior Advisor, has owned for the past 12 years. Greg’s franchise area covers more than 20 Houston suburbs, including Bellaire, Missouri City, Pearland, Sugar Land and Stafford.
In October 2025, nearly 2½ years after Jerald came aboard at Home Instead, Human Resources Manager Margi Kenny announced Jerald had been honored as a Care Pro of the Month. Among the considerations for achieving Care Pro of the Month status, an employee has shown he has gone above and beyond the call of duty, Margi pointed out.
Empathy and compassion are considered for the award, as well as skill and wisdom for dealing with challenging situations. Jerald embodies Home Instead’s guiding principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.”
In addition to his strong companionship skills, Jerald provides safety assurance, meal preparation, medication reminders, light housekeeping, and transportation and errands. He offers personal assistance with eating, grooming, dressing, bathing, incontinence care, cognitive impairment, hospice support and mobility. By expertly doing so, Jerald not only assists his clients, but helps their families eliminate worry, reduce stress and re-establish personal freedom.
To build on their knowledge and experience, Jerald and other Houston Care Pros are offered the opportunity to increase their dementia-care skills by taking part in the Home Instead network’s one-of-a-kind training protocol. Home Instead’s Person-Centered Care Training for Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias is recognized by the Alzheimer’s Association® for incorporating the evidence-based dementia-care practice recommendations in these topic areas: Alzheimer’s and dementia, person-centered care, assessment and care planning, activities of daily living, and behaviors and communication.
Focusing on Home Instead’s training, processes and procedures of successful caregiving helped Jerald achieve the Care Pro of the Month award. “What I like most about the job is its flexibility – you can choose your days and hours. I don’t have any particular story I can tell that is related to what I do, but I do know that this job makes a healthy person appreciate his independence even more. I also know that our clients appreciate the help we provide,” Jerald said.
Jerald is an important part of the Care Pro team at the Houston 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 (713) 774-2215 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
