Barbara Easily Shifts Styles of Care to Meet Each Situation
Home Instead® CAREGiver of the Month Barbara Pennington always uses her award-winning senior-care skills with a compassion that is generated by her faith-filled soul. She is known for her good judgment, loving touch and wisdom, and Barbara also can be immovable when the circumstances call for it – those situations always involve a client’s safety and well-being.
One lovable but sometimes gruff gentleman challenged Barbara when she brought up medication reminders, but Barbara never wavered because she knew the consequences. The client’s daughter, who invited Barbara and her other Home Instead colleagues to her father’s funeral, thanked Barbara for standing firm with her father. The daughter also loved the bond they had established; despite his occasional objections, her father liked and respected Barbara.
“For certain clients, you’ve got to overcome the gruffness and challenging behaviors like that. I don’t take things personally. For one, I can understand many new clients are concerned about a previously unknown person coming into their home. I let the clients know what I’m doing so there’s no surprises or mysteries. They learn I have their best interests in mind. Once they trust you, you’re OK in their eyes,” Barbara said.
When asked about the difficult client who warmed up to her, Barbara said: “He was very nice, but at first there were ‘moments.’ He had early stage Alzheimer’s. When I began care, he tried to put the bluff on me, which is to say he wanted me to know who was in charge. He ultimately was a nice man to work for. He did startle one CAREGiver. I told her not to pay attention to the negativity, and she came to like him.”
That kind of grace, perseverance and patience has served Barbara well since she joined Home Instead of Clawson on Nov. 20, 2003. The Home Instead staff believes Barbara has been honored as many as four times as the franchise CAREGiver of the Month. The latest award came in February 2022. In 2014, Barbara was the CAREGiver of the Year, and probably also was a CAREGiver of the Year between 2004 and 2012. Barbara doesn’t keep count.
“She is a great role model for other CAREGivers,” Home Instead General Manager Anne Monaghan said.
Barbara’s current client often has praised Barbara in chats with the Home Instead staff. “The office should know,” the client said, “that Barbara is consistently awesome.” Barbara acknowledged their compatibility by saying, “We’ve got a good relationship and enjoy the companionship. We talk, walk, have tea and just enjoy being with each other because we can discuss anything. I enjoy our conversations. She is fairly independent and capable, but I do whatever she needs. We have a lot in common. I am a senior citizen, too.”
In one instance, Barbara did not realize a client’s wife was listening to everything Barbara was saying while she was doing her job. The client’s wife was impressed with Barbara and the care she provided for her husband, and Barbara did not know it. The client’s wife provided a written testimonial for the Home Instead staff that was later read during a luncheon that turned out to be the CAREGiver of the Year presentation. “I was surprised and emotional,” Barbara said.
While Barbara can tell you about her great memories of clients, there also are sad times. “With a client’s death, sometimes I take a day or two off. I am used to the death of a client. In the Chicago nursing home where I worked before I moved to Michigan in 2003, we saw a lot of death. My belief is, there is no sense in grieving because they are in a better place. That is true, especially if they were suffering. Now they are at peace. Sometimes I recite the 23rd Psalm,” Barbara said.
One of Barbara’s clients died March 6. “She was very, very nice. I did fill-in shifts before her husband had died earlier. She was in her late 80s. She and her family are beautiful people. She did such a good job with her children, who respected her. She was surrounded by her children and grandchildren – all came around to visit with their spouses. It was amazing to her, but I’d say it was one of her legacies. She was so caring. I admired her and want to be like her.”
Her faith is important to Barbara. “God is the head of my life. We’ve got a source of power to go to, and that is God. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.’ Also, Jesus paid the price for us. I try to put my trust in Him, ” said Barbara, who pointed out she is careful about sharing faith issues only with clients who first broach the subject.
“One lady client and I talked about the Bible and God because she wanted to talk about it. We’ve been engaged in conversations about the Lord. She said, ‘Barbara, you’re so different.’ I put her mind at ease as we talked about sensitive social issues from her childhood that bothered her. I am never judgmental, and if I can help someone work out an emotional or spiritual problem, I’ll do it. It never gets old, helping people in any way I can. I still feel the same as when I started in 2003. I am eager to help.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (248) 220-3009 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
