What a Charm! Home Instead Honors Maria for a Third Time
It’s not surprising Maria Garza has been honored three times as a Care Professional of the Month at Home Instead® of Midland-Odessa, Texas, during the past five years. A Home Instead staff member’s descriptions of Maria hit the mark: “Outstanding dedication. Incredible impact. Dependable. Timely, accurate client reports. Always punctual. Commitment that speaks volumes. Detail-oriented. Attentive.” The last descriptors were prompted as a result of one of Maria’s recent incredible feats.
Home Instead Engagement and Training Coordinator Rozephyr Jean explained: “Maria caught a critical oversight when she noticed that hospital personnel had failed to remove an IV from a client, an observation that could have gone unnoticed without Maria’s vigilance.”
Rozephyr added: “Maria is driven by purpose. She truly loves what she does, and it shows. She travels two hours every weekend to work 40-hour shifts without hesitation. Maria cares deeply and consistently, and she goes above and beyond to ensure her clients receive the highest quality of care. We are incredibly grateful to have Maria on our team. Thank you, Maria, for your hard work, heart and unwavering dedication.”
Each of Maria’s three Care Pro of the Month honors has a different theme with different challenges and circumstances. Her May 2025 award, which followed honors in November 2023 and March 2020, centers on her efforts with a 90-year-old widow whom Maria has assisted for a year. Maria spends weekends with her client, who receives 24/7 care from Home Instead.
“About three years ago, my client lost her husband, who was a Home Instead client. After he passed away, she kept Home Instead’s assistance. My client lives alone and doesn’t have any family in this area because her children live out of state. She has neighbors who are good friends,” Maria explained. “She ‘barely’ has dementia, just some memory problems, but she knows who I am and knows our other Care Pros.”
Maria and her client bonded easily. “I love her. She’s a nice lady who is smiling all the time. I’ve never seen her unhappy. I am not giving her pep talks because her outlook is good. She does the puzzles by herself. I don’t help.”
The client has taught Maria a thing or two: “She likes puzzles and crocheting. She has shown me a lot with her crocheting. She has a number of beautiful things in her house and all, including the wall hangings, she made with her own hands.”
Maria pointed out: “I help her with whatever she needs, including personal care, and we watch TV and listen to music. We watch church on Sundays on the TV. She still goes to the beauty salon on Thursdays – with a different Care Pro, of course – but she loves to have me do her hair on weekends, including the combing. The other Care Pros also take her to appointments.”
Maria is hoping and praying that she’ll continue to serve her client for many years. “She’s 90 and has such a positive outlook. Another thing in her favor for longevity is that her mother lived to age 105, and she was still mobile at the end of her life. I saw a photo of her mother, and she looked great. My client uses a walker, but she has a lot of things going for her. I am cheering for her and doing whatever I can to make her life as good as possible,” Maria said.
Encouraging others and supporting them physically and emotionally as they face challenges is the basis of Maria’s selfless life. For about four years, she worked for a school district on weekdays, for Home Instead on weekends and in the summer, and served as a family caregiver. She retired from her school job in 2023 after 28 years.
“My life is dedicated to taking care of little ones as well as older adults,” said Maria, who still serves as a family caregiver when she’s not helping her Home Instead client. “I am taking care of a little one, a granddaughter who is almost 4. I also stay with a grandson who is a high school sophomore. I had been taking care of my first granddaughter, but she just graduated from high school and will be moving to Odessa to attend college. I am very proud of her.”
Looking ahead to the future, Maria said: “I am going to continue to do this work until I can’t. I like the young and the old, those who need help. They are society’s most vulnerable.”
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (432) 689-4663 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
