Hilda Views Seniors as ‘a Treasure’
CAREGiver of the Month Hilda Zulema Paz Fernandez feels so strongly about senior care that she poured out her heart while writing an essay entitled “A Treasure on Your Hands” that raises points about the career path she chose in August 2020 with Home Instead® of Clearwater, an award-winning franchise owned by Julie Castle.
Before excerpting key thoughts from Hilda’s 300-word essay, a survey of Hilda’s caregiving background is in order. Hilda grew up with her parents and four elderly family members around her, including her paternal great-grandmother, a grandmother, a grandfather and a great-uncle. Later, Hilda took care of her father-in-law, who suffered from cancer of the thorax and stomach, and she also took care of an aunt – her mother’s sister – who had colon cancer.
Referring to her education. Hilda noted: “I have been a National Certified Medical Assistant Technician since March 2013. I have been a student of English for Academic Purposes at Hillsborough Community College-Dale Mabry Campus in Tampa since August 2018.”
She found Home Instead online and started with the franchise Aug. 14, 2020. In March 2021, Director of CAREGiver Services JC Crady honored Hilda as CAREGiver of the Month. “I am very excited and happy,” said Hilda, referring to the employee honor.
“I am thrilled to have received the opportunity to learn about the American culture of days gone by through the eyes of my clients. Every client story is interesting to me because each client has had wide varying experiences during their lives,” she said. “My essay describes my experience in different activities with seniors since I started with Home Instead.”
From “A Treasure on Your Hands,” shortened to provide small bites:
Older people “transmit to us excellent advice, orientation and stories lived.”
“Friendly greetings are given to awake each different encounter … helping by using compassion, respect, comprehension and patience, which are a positive conduct. Feeling compassion and respect while assisting routines daily, which involve love, professionalism and unconditional support inside and outside the home; those qualities generate good results.”
“Tasks, which include helping buy groceries, trips to the beauty salon, spa or barber shop and to medical appointments, are great accomplishments. Generally, those activities give seniors the motivation to continue fighting with enthusiasm and hope.”
“One must have comprehension and patience with seniors, some of whom have become partially disabled with maladies such as deafness, blindness or serious diseases. Definitely, they need us to spend time and support them in the activities indoors, solitaire cards, domino games and playing with pets. Sometimes, they love to listen to music or read books for pleasure, knowledge and entertainment. In addition, some like to water garden flowers.”
Finally, Hilda writes: “We should focus on spreading happiness, hope and joy, which are feelings to be tenderly deposited in their hearts during each visit. We do that with sweet words and a happy face as an optimistic expression. Indeed, the compassion, respect, comprehension and patience are the best attitudes for encouraging seniors to continue fighting for life. Demonstrate to them that they are a treasure on your hands.”
Hilda loves being a part of the CAREGiver team for Julie’s franchise, a member of a highly successful network founded in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska, by Paul and Lori Hogan. The Home Instead network is the world’s leading provider of in-home care services for seniors, with more than 1,200 independently owned and operated franchises that provide more than 80 million hours of care annually throughout the U.S. and 13 other countries.
Hilda is among more than 90,000 CAREGivers, and she has helped add to those numbers because of her strong belief in Home Instead’s purpose. It isn’t hard to see Hilda lives the Home Instead® principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.”
Our office serves all of Pinellas County, including Clearwater, Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Oldsmar, Largo, Pinellas Park, Seminole, Belleair, St. Petersburg, Gulfport and surrounding beaches. All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (727) 799-1400 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
