Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Ella Sydnor will never forget a treasured moment with a memorable client. “Toward the end of her life,” Ella recalled, “I’d ask her if she recognized me. She always said, ‘You’re my baby.’ I loved that term of endearment. One day I brought her flowers and took a picture of her with them. I’ll have that photo forever. She had a sharp mind until the final couple of weeks, when she was on hospice.”
Ella added: “The client was awesome, and she was the oldest client I’ve helped. I had assisted her from the early part of 2022 until four or five days before her 101st birthday, when she passed away later that year. She shared so much wisdom. She was so positive. She had such a great attitude.”
Ella’s client was a high school teacher, and her husband was a college instructor. She loved teaching, was passionate about education and had compassion for others. “Originally from Louisiana, my client talked about watching the return of military members from the Vietnam War. As an educator, among the things she did was help the soldiers who had PTSD,” Ella explained.
Life’s travels took the client across the country. The client had lived in California before moving to Arizona, where she also had been assisted by Home Instead Care Pros. Referring to Collin County, Texas, where Ella worked for the award-winning Home Instead franchise in Plano, she said: The client had moved here to be closer to family members. We became part of her family.”
Just as she does with all her Home Instead clients, Ella fashioned her care so it would be unique to her client. “I would not prepare her breakfast without discussing it with her. I would ask her what she would like to eat that day. Many times, she liked grits with lots of butter and cheese, lots of it. I thought, ‘At her age, why not? She deserved what she requested.’ I put her makeup on and did her nails. She had never had a pedicure,” Ella said.
Ella’s client “went out in style” with two services. “The family held a memorial service here in Texas and then had a big funeral for her in California,” Ella noted. As a fitting crescendo, the client’s son and other family members told Ella: “We were thrilled with your care.”
That sentiment was echoed at Home Instead of Collin County when the franchise honored Ella as its Care Pro of the Month for May, an award that was presented four years after Ella joined Home Instead, which is now owned by Chase and Taylor Crenwelge. Human Resources Coordinator Jocelyn Mejia said: “Ella embodies Home Instead’s guiding principles of ‘Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.’ ”
Among the considerations for achieving Care Pro of the Month status, an employee has shown she has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Empathy and compassion are considered for the award, as well as skill and wisdom for dealing with challenging situations. Those qualities describe Ella’s life of service to others long before she joined Home Instead.
“I’ve always had a passion for helping people, especially children and senior citizens. My belief is that the elderly population is more vulnerable than other demographics,” Ella said. “My profession over the years entailed working as vice president of Section 8 and public housing, counselor at a girl’s camp, mental health case manager for children and family services, and parent coaching. On weekends, I would visit and offer services to the elderly, going to the pharmacy, cooking a meal, providing companionship and more.”
Ella, who graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a master’s in human relations, also has extensive experience as a long-time family caregiver for her daughter and mother, who battled health challenges for a number of years.
Ella doesn’t keep track of her long list of good deeds for others, but she does want to continue to add to her caregiving experiences. “I plan to keep going as long as I have the energy. I need to keep going as long as I can because when you stop, life can take different turns in which you may begin a decline,” Ella said.
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (972) 744-9898 or apply online . For further information about Home Instead, visit our website at homeinstead.com/413
